Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est
by PandaShadow
Summary: Two sisters are thrust into a world they never thought could even exist when the younger loses her vision and the older blames herself, determined to go to any length necessary to give her sister her sight back. They get involved in more than they had expected due to the Demon World tournament. Who is Yaban Hito? How are the Spirit Detectives involved? KuramaOC, HieiOC if you squin
1. Work Doodles

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**Work Doodles**

**A/N: **

**Panda: Hello there! This is a story. We are writing it. And I am recycling Kaiya from my other Yu Yu Hakusho story, Spirit Blind, which has now been deleted from the website and will never be seen again.**

**Armadilllo: Darn, I liked that one. I guess I should say hello too.**

**Panda: Yes, that would probably be an intelligent idea. **

**Armadilllo: Lol, k then. It is true. We are writing this story. I cannot deny it. And I really love Kurama.**

**Panda: And I really love Hiei.**

**Armadilllo: And together, we love both of them. I should probably apologize to everyone who is reading this story for my treatment of Shuichi. You see, it bothers me that people think he is gay. So to work through my issues, I am making fun of it by having my OC, Marika, think that he is gay. It is one of the many blocks in their relationship. Plus, she doesn't like him that much. And is obsessed with blindness.**

**Panda: I don't like Mukuro.**

**Armadilllo: Classic. So, without further ado, I think we should warn you that we do not, in fact, own these characters. We just love them.**

**Panda: Nor do we own the world. Or Japan. Or the characters that we don't love. We own Marika, Kaiya, their non-existent parents, spider dude, Aiko, and the lovely plot. Because, really, the plot is spectacular. Two heads are truly better than one. On a further note, I will make you aware that Armadilllo writes the odd-numbered chapters, and I write the even-numbered chapters.**

**Armadilllo: Oh, is that what we agreed on? I thought I was writing the even numbered ones and you were writing the odd numbered ones.**

**Panda: I was under the impression that two is an even number.**

**Armadilllo: MATH? WHAT IS THIS? One is an even number.**

**Panda: Okay. Whatever you say. Anyway, just so you know, this does take place after the show. It disregards both movies and any information that is only in the manga. The general timeframe is right before the next Demon World Tournament is going to start. Yeah. I have paranoia when I am in the shower now. I feel like I'm going to go blind. It's quite entertaining.**

**Armadilllo: LETS GO ALREADY!**

**Panda: Wow. You're the one who forgot how numbers work. Anyway, without **_**further**_** further ado, we present to you the lovely chapter one, Work Doodles!**

* * *

Shiraga Marika turned her book sideways. She had picked it out from the university library a week ago but had yet to actually get very far into it. _The Pool of Siloam: Diseases of the Eyes and Modern Treatment Options _was not a terribly interesting book. The title seemed better than most that Marika had tried to read in the last few years, but that obviously did not extend to the content or the writing style. It was as dense as an encyclopedia, but much less interesting. Turning it sideways did not seem to help the matter much.

Marika checked again to make sure that there were no customers to help. Today had been slow. No one wanted to buy shoes because it had been pouring rain all day, flooding many roads and making them impassable. Her last class had been cancelled, and her sister Kaiya had phoned her to say that her afterschool programs had been shut down as well, so there was no need for Marika to walk her sister home. The only part to worry about now was whether or not Marika herself could get home without growing a pair of gills. The shoe store where she worked had seen a total of three customers since she had arrived and right now Minamino Shuichi, her co-worker, was helping the only customer in sight. Feeling a bit let down that there was nothing to keep her from reading the book in front of her, she returned the book to its original position.

Marika got through about a half page of boring science processes before stopping and rubbing her eyes in frustration. She was a history major, for goodness sake! She would have hoped that she never had to deal with anything related to math or science for the rest of her life, or, if that was too much to hope for, then at least for the rest of her time in University. But she supposed she only had herself to blame for this. She forced herself to research on this particular topic out of guilt for events long-passed.

"What are you reading?" Shuichi came around the back of the counter. The door was easily visible past the rows and rows of shoes so they could see if any customers came in from the torrential downpour. Marika was sure they didn't want shoes if they happened to wander in; if they did, it would be to escape the rain. "_The Pool of –"_

Marika moved the book out of his sight before he could finish reading the title. "You are so nosy, Minamino-san. Why do you care what I read in my spare time?"

"I was merely trying to be friendly," Shuichi said, trying to placate her.

Of course he was trying to be friendly. This was Minamino Shuichi, after all. He was nearly perfect in every way. Top of his class throughout high school, happy family, good looks; he had everything. The biggest problem in his whole life was that he was hopelessly attracted to men, or so they said. But what else was to be expected of a clean-cut, well-dressed, long-haired boy? No one who looked at him twice could possibly think otherwise. The rumors abounded every time he was seen in town with younger men. One time they said he was with a tall, red-haired man; another time he was spotted with a short man in a cape.

Marika had to admit he was good-looking. There was something about the way he held himself sometimes that exuded power. Marika wondered if he had ever run with a street gang. Most of the time he was quite harmless and nice to everyone, if a bit quiet. But Marika had seen look in his eyes when the other students poked fun at his sexuality within the range of his hearing. It was a steely glint in his dark green eyes that said _underestimate me and you die_. She had only caught that look twice, but it made a distinct impression on her. She had a feeling that Shuichi was more dangerous than he let on. Marika had always felt that Shuichi was a bit like a cornered animal. He was harmless in most situations, but when pushed to fight, he made certain that his enemy was the one with his face in the dust.

He looked slightly hurt by her anger, and though his eyes were soft and well-intentioned at the moment, she felt that at any time they would become hostile. With this in mind, she moved to alleviate the sting from her earlier words. "It's just a book for my sister. Dull as a doornail though."

"You must be a devoted sister to spend so much time on it," Shuichi said. Yes, even though she had known him now for over three months, Shuichi was still a mystery to Marika. And while she was often attracted to men of mystery, she was smart enough to know that this one was off-limits. Besides, she had her eye on some other prospects at school. Not that she had that much time to date anyway. In fact, if she cared to think about it - which she didn't - she hadn't been on a date since she was fifteen.

Thankfully, at that moment, a customer came in from the rain, bringing with him almost as much water as he left outside. Marika left her book behind the counter, out of sight of Shuichi, and went to the front of the store to help the man find whatever it was he was looking for.

Sadly, though, it seemed he was only there to take shelter from the rain. It was only four thirty; Marika still had half an hour of boredom left before she could head out into the rain for herself and go home. Normally she loved the rain, but something about today's storm looked deadly. The clouds crackled with a kind of purple energy that sent shivers up and down her spine. The man soon went back out into the street, pulling up the collar on his jacket. The rain came down so violently that it bounced up off the road and came down again, making it seem as if there was much more rain than there actually was. The city would be flooded for days. Marika was glad she had worn her rain boots today.

Marika did not know how long she stood by the door after the customer had gone. There was something mesmerizing about watching the rain flood down from the sky and create a torrent of churning water in the neat, man-made channel of the road. She half-wanted to run out into the rain and dance in it, though she knew she couldn't, seeing as how she was at work. Also, something about the water seemed wrong, dangerous even. She was glad for the roof over her head at that moment. She stood there for a long time, slowly braiding her long, dark brown hair to pass the time.

She felt Shuichi move from behind the counter before she heard his footsteps. Marika didn't particularly want to talk to him though. She was bored, but she wasn't bored enough to want to spend time with Shuichi. She walked around the back of the shelves of shoes, pretending to check and see if they needed restocking, and eventually made her way back behind the counter again.

Shuichi paid her no mind. He was still standing in front of the door, watching the rain just as she had through the glass window. Marika hoped that Kaiya had made it home alright. Hopefully one of her teachers had driven her home, or her physical therapist, who she usually saw after school. It was not safe for a blind girl to walk home alone.

Marika had never gotten used to the idea that her sister was blind. Even from the first day, when she had come home from the arcade to find that her mother and sister were in the emergency room, she had felt that it had to be a joke. It felt like a dream. Kaiya had only been cleaning the bathroom when Marika left; what could be dangerous about that?

Of course, they had both been told by their mother to clean that day, but Marika had convinced her sister to let her go out to the arcade instead. As she was leaving the house, she had felt guilty, but she had never expected the disaster that followed. She should have stayed there that day. If she was not so selfish, she wouldn't have gone and left her sister to this fate.

The circumstances of the accident were never fully understood. Kaiya didn't remember, and no one else had been around. Their mother had heard a loud noise and went to investigate. She found Kaiya unconscious on the floor, a bottle of strong household cleaner in her hand. The bottle had been blown apart from the inside and the acidic liquid was all over her sister's face. But even as her mother had cleaned off the other parts of Kaiya's skin, she had not known that her sister's eyes had been exposed to the chemicals.

When they reached the emergency room where both their mother and father were well-known since they were surgeons in the main hospital, the doctors had tried to control the damage done to her eyes. But it had been too long and the chemicals had been allowed to fester, slowly corroding the lenses. They had called it a stage four burn and given their apologies to Marika's mother. Kaiya was blind.

It had taken a year for the whites of her sister's eyes to lose their ugly, red color. Now, four years later, the only external sign that remained of the trauma was a white film over her sister's dark brown eyes and a slight yellowing of her iris that they said would never go away. The doctors said she would never see again, but Marika could not accept that fact. She would find a way to fix her mistake, even if it cost her everything.

She heard a small sound of surprise behind her. She hadn't noticed Shuichi walking back, too absorbed in her own thoughts to continue to avoid him. He asked, "What is that?"

She didn't know what he was talking about at first. Then she looked down and realized that she had been drawing on a piece of old receipt paper. She didn't know how long she had been doing that, but her drawing was very far along. Of course, it wasn't surprising that Shuichi couldn't tell what it was; it took her a moment to figure it out for herself.

Drawing was something she did in her spare time, though she wasn't artistic in the slightest. Kaiya was, but after her accident, her ability to make her visions come to life had been all-but taken away from her. No matter how much she tried to draw, Marika could not give that back to her sister.

This drawing was of a bear on its hind legs, or maybe it was a person. Yes, she thought it was a person. But for some reason, this person had three eyes. And next to this weird alien was some kind of squiggle. It was a loop that looked as if it had two heads or maybe two tails. The only things that gave a clue to the fact that it was some kind of animal were four stumpy blocks that were supposed to be feet. She didn't know what had possessed her to draw such strange things. Perhaps boredom caused a kind of insanity. But the figures did seem familiar, if very badly represented. Marika couldn't quite place where they had come from. Were they from a television show? Or some kind of book?

Shuichi had a calculating look in his eyes that sent a shiver down Marika's spine. She supposed she should answer, not that it was any of his business what she doodled. "A three-eyed alien and a cat. No wait, I think it's a fox. Or maybe a wolf."

Shuichi laughed light-heartedly, but the emotion did not reach his eyes. "It would have taken me a thousand guesses to get it right. Perhaps you should leave art to people who are more suited to it."

"You just wait, Minamino Shuichi, I will steal all of your illustrious honors in art," Marika said. Shuichi was an architecture major and had drawn a lot of attention through his art. It was another reason that his preference for males was so painfully obvious. Straight men were not interested in art. Why were the attractive ones either gay or jerks? It was not fair.

"It's true, you are much more creative than me," he said. "I prefer to draw things that are more concrete. Your imagination must be very great for you to think of such things as aliens and foxes."

Marika couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. It was a good thing she didn't care. "Do you really think it's a fox? I am leaning more towards coyote."

"Like in those American westerns?" Shuichi laughed. "Yes, you are probably right."

Marika thought about it some more. Perhaps she had seen an American western about aliens. No, that couldn't be right. She hadn't gone to the movies in a long time. Not since before the accident. She didn't have time now for much more than work and school. And she definitely couldn't let Kaiya just go out on her own. Or stay home without their parents there. And even when their parents were home – which wasn't often because they worked long hours – they didn't know how to handle their daughter anymore. Only Marika cared enough to find ways to deal with her sister now. Kaiya responded badly to most people.

No, it didn't seem like it had come from anything of that sort. But it seemed so familiar. Then she remembered where she had seen those images. It was a dream she'd had months ago of a short, black-haired, three-eyed man in strange clothes. There had been a girl there, too, who had brown hair, funny-looking ears, and a tail. She had transformed into a fox made of energy for a brief moment and then back into the strange-looking girl. She looked at the picture again. Yes, now that she thought about it, it was very accurate - or as much as she ever was with her drawings. But there was something wrong about the alien. Shuichi was still examining the doodle, but she took it out of his hands and made two extra marks to the paper.

"There," she said, handing it back to her co-worker. Now the alien had two angry-looking eyebrows above his two natural eyes. The third eye hovered above them like something out of a science-fiction show. She began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Shuichi asked her.

"His eyes look like misshapen lemons," she said. It was five until five now: almost time to go out into the weather and face the elements. Calming down, she said to Shuichi, "I hope that my coat is still waterproof."

"Are you walking in this?" Shuichi sounded much more concerned than the situation called for.

Marika shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. It'll be fine. It's not too far."

"I could give you a ride home if you wish," Shuichi offered.

"Yeah, no offense, but I would rather get the exercise," Marika told him. She got her coat on.

"I insist." Something in his voice made her turn around. His eyes were hard as crystal, their unusual green color sharp and dangerous. She felt as if she were being evaluated as a threat. It was a great change from the friendly man who had been standing there a minute ago. His long, unnaturally red hair was the same, and his face still had the same softness to it. But his eyes had changed. Crumpling up the scrap of paper that held the offensive doodle and throwing it in the trash can as if it were nothing, she met his gaze as steadily as she could, trying to ignore the strange fear shivering down her spine.

"Yes, well, I suppose that would be okay, Minamino-san," Marika said formally. "We have to close now anyway."

It was now five o'clock. They pulled down the shutters and swept the floors, getting each of their things and going out the back door into the pouring rain.

The wind was awful, but the rain didn't get on her because Shuichi lent her his umbrella. Marika wondered why it didn't flip inside out because of how strong the wind was, but she didn't question it. She felt the energy of the rain more acutely than ever now that she was surrounded by it. She was glad when they reached his car. It wasn't parked too far away from the building, but it seemed like much longer of a walk because they could both hardly see anything.

Marika got into the car as quickly as she could and slammed the door shut behind her. Shuichi did the same. His hair was soaked through and he shivered slightly as though he had a cold. His skin was washed out and he was breathing heavily like he had just run a great distance.

"Are you okay, Minamino-san?" Marika asked. He simply smiled and looked at her.

"I have been through much worse than this. I just need a moment and I'll be fine," he told her.

He seemed weaker, and not just because he looked so tired. Some of the energy he had exuded when he had convinced her to let him drive her home was gone. That was silly though; it wasn't as if the rain could have really weakened him. It was just rain after all, no matter how unsettling the purplish clouds had become.

Shuichi started up the car after another minute went by. He looked slightly back to normal, though she couldn't see his eyes to be sure.

"You'll need to give me directions," he said. "I'm afraid I don't quite know where I am going."

Marika told him to head west on the main road. Her parents' house was in a more rural part of the suburbs. It was a half-hour away from the hospital, which was why they rarely came home during the day. Unless they had several hours of break-time, it was useless for them to try and make the journey home and back because it took an hour round-trip. From the shoe store it was only about a ten-minute drive. They had moved to that house, not because of its proximity to the hospital, but because it was only a block or two away from the school for the blind that Kaiya attended.

Marika gave Shuichi a quick run-down on the turns he would have to make. He simply nodded, still looking tired. They did not talk for a few minutes, but during this time, Marika sensed that Shuichi was coming back to himself. She did not know how she knew, but it was quite obvious to her that he was recovering from whatever the rain had done to him. Perhaps he had asthma or a severe phobia of water. Kaiya could certainly relate if he was afraid of water, though to Marika it seemed a rather silly thing to be afraid of.

"And you wanted to walk home in this?" Shuichi asked after a while. "It would have taken you a half-hour or more to get home."

"I like the exercise," Marika said defensively. "What are legs good for if not for walking?"

"If you want, I could start giving you a ride home after work," Shuichi offered. "I have nothing against an active lifestyle, but I don't think it is safe for a young girl like yourself to be out on the streets alone."

"It's not a bad part of town," Marika argued. "It's perfectly safe. Plus, I usually have to pick up my sister after work. I don't want to put you through any trouble."

"It's no trouble," Shuichi said. "I can pick up your sister too."

"If you are really set on it, I guess you can," Marika said apathetically.

"Good, then it is settled," Shuichi said as he pulled up to her family's wooden, two-story house. Marika saw the back of her sister's head in the window. That meant she was safe. Marika let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

Her sister sat, trying to paint as she usually did after she came home from school. Kaiya had really been a talent before her accident, and the ground floor of their house was covered in her sister's paintings from those days. It was a sad reminder of what her sister could have been if she had not been blind.

Marika put her book about eyesight into her backpack. She did not want to upset Kaiya by letting it slip that she held out hope for curing her blindness. Though her sister could not see, knowing Marika's luck, her parents would see the book and mention it to her. That is, if they ever came home.

"Thank you for the ride, Minamino," she told him as she prepared to get out of the car.

"Please, call me Shuichi," he said. "And take the umbrella. You can give it back to me later."

She did as he asked and got inside the house safely. She waved at him in the car to show him that it was okay to drive away, but he had already started to back out. She shook her head. She could not comprehend this change in him. He had rarely talked so much to her in one day before, not to mention the fact that he had agreed to drive her home every day. He was queer, and not just because he liked men.

Her parents were not home yet, but that was unsurprising. She heard a crash from overhead. Immediately worried, she moved to go upstairs, only to run into her sister, who was heading for the backdoor.

"Kaiya, wait, you can't go outside," Marika told her, worry seeping into her voice.

"I need to," Kaiya said, her unfocused eyes lightly sparking with frustration as she took off her slippers, tossing them in the direction of the door. "Why can't I?"

"It's pouring rain outside," Marika told her.

"No it's not," Kaiya said. Marika crossed over to the window as her sister brushed past her and went out the door. It was not raining anymore and, even more strangely, the sky had returned to a clear shade of blue. The clouds looked harmless and full, as if the storm had never happened.

_Can today get any stranger? _Marika thought.

* * *

**Armadilllo: Yes, yes it can.**

**Panda: Look at that grammar. It is so pretty.**

**Armadilllo: Lol, commas are a good thing.**

**Panda: Yes. I love commas that are used properly almost as much as I love Hiei. But anyway, we have a preview for you. Before I share it, I will tell you where these previews came from. When we were planning the story, I took notes in the form of a timeline in a notebook. The notes are small because I didn't want to use up more than one line.**

**Preview for chapter two, Running Pixies:**

**Paint; woods.**

**Armadilllo: Kent Williams would have done much better. (He is the narrator in the show, for those of you who don't watch credits.)**

**Panda: Or who don't pay attention to voice actor names. So, this story will be updated every Saturday. Reliably. And, just like everyone else on this website, we would love to get some reviews! See you then!**

**C. E. Taylor and G. E. Hemmy**

**P.S. I said at one point that this story was called Heart of Life. That was a lie. The trilogy is called Heart of Life. The story is called Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est. I apologize for any confusion.**


	2. Running Pixies

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**Running Pixies**

**Review Replies:**

**random – Thank you! Armadilllo isn't here right now, but I am sure she will be thrilled to hear your review, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter as well. Alea Iacta Est is the Latin phrase meaning "the die has been cast" so, essentially, that things have begun and are in fate's hands. I hope you enjoy this chapter (even though it is much less active) as much as you liked chapter one!**

**A/N:**

**Panda: Hello again, readers. It is nice to see you again. If you like angst, you will probably be a fan of this chapter... and most of the chapters I write.**

**Armadilllo: All of my chapters are the most angsty, let's be serious.**

**Panda: Whatever you say.**

**Armadilllo: But anyway, this chapter is pretty cool. **

**Panda: Well thank you. Kaiya's chapters are kind of passive for a while. There are lots of flashbacks. And dreams. And introspection. And angst. Generally, the plot is much more mobile in Marika's chapters for now, but there's a shift in that later on.**

**Armadilllo: Yes, well, it is hard for Kaiya to really do anything at the moment. Marika is kinda obsessed with keeping her safe. And that means not doing anything.**

**Panda: Very true. It won't be until she finds her super rebellious streak that the plot starts heating up for her.**

**Armadilllo: Meanwhile, Marika will continue harassing Shuichi and generally be chillin'.**

**Panda: Straight chillin'?**

**Armadilllo: Marika is. Shuichi is gay chillin'.**

**Panda: I'm so proud. Anyway, in case you didn't catch it in the last chapter, we don't own anything except for our lovely characters and plot. Yeah. Yu Yu Hakusho is legit.**

**Armadilllo: It is true, and so, we proudly present to you, the second chapter of Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est - Running Pixies!**

* * *

It was raining. The sounds of the raindrops on the roof and windows of the small school pounded in Kaiya's ears. It sounded like a bunch of little pixies running around on top of the roof. She twirled a bit of her long hair around her index finger as her teacher continued to drone on and on about mental images involving shapes.

Kaiya was blind. She had been blind for four years after a cleaning accident in the bathroom of her home, and no one had treated her the same ever since then. Her parents barely spoke to her, though they weren't at home enough to really have a chance - they were doctors in the hospital that was a thirty-minute drive away from her home. Ryo had abandoned her with shallow reasoning that she had never been aware he possessed. Her sister began to baby her, not allowing her to perform even the smallest, most mundane activity on her own.

But it was raining. By the sound of the pattering overhead, it seemed like it was raining hard. And hard rain meant that physical therapy was canceled. And when physical therapy was canceled, Kaiya got to walk the ten-minute walk home on her own. Therefore, rain was good.

Kaiya remembered the day that she and her sister had been instructed by their mother to clean the bathroom. It was near the end of her final year in junior high. She was just about to take her entrance exams to the high schools she was considering, and she had studied hard in an attempt to ensure that she would get into her first choice. Unfortunately, due to an accident that no one ever fully understood, she lost her eyesight. She could remember the day as though it had only just happened - perhaps that was because it was the last clear image she had in her mind.

"Marika, Kaiya, can you clean the bathroom today? Your father got called in to work and I need to finish this last medical journal, but the floor looks like it's on the verge of growing mold," their mother, Shiraga Natsuki, requested of her two daughters. They agreed; it wasn't as though it would be that difficult. The bathroom was relatively small, and they had cleaned it before.

However, before any of the cleaning could actually get done, Marika lowered her voice and made a seemingly innocent request of her sister. "Kaiya-chan," she began. Kaiya immediately knew that some favor was about to be asked of her; there was never another time when her sister used an honorific with her name. "You can clean the bathroom by yourself, can't you? There is barely enough room for the both of us as it is."

"And what are you planning to do instead, nee-chan?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She wouldn't let her sister worm her way out of it while twirling her dark brown braid she almost always styled her hair in. No, she was going to get a legitimate explanation out of her - and then probably agree to it.

"Fumiki-kun asked if I would meet him at the arcade," Marika said. Her sister was always going out with boys, but she was very fickle and almost never went out on a date with the same boy twice. This was the third time she had gone out with Yanagashita-san, so that meant that it must be getting pretty serious.

"I see," she responded as she used the hair-tie on her wrist to pull her long, black hair into a messy bun. "And I'm assuming you want to keep him from okaa-san and otou-san, correct?" Marika nodded, a smile brightening her features. "Okay nee-chan, knock yourself out. But you owe me one, okay?"

"Yes! Okay, anything you want!" Marika exclaimed, pulling her younger sister into a hug before quietly leaving the room. Kaiya smiled; she hoped that maybe, this time, her sister was really finding a guy she had feelings for - like, emotional feelings instead of an infatuation based on looks. How her sister managed to get into a school with so many boys she found attractive seemed impossible to Kaiya, but she never questioned it. Maybe half of them were ugly. Or maybe all of them were ugly. That could be why she was never allowed to meet any of them. Or that could be because they are never around long enough for it to matter.

When she felt her sister leave the house, she became refocused on the duty before her. With a baby blue rag and the acidic tile and ceramic cleaner, she sprayed down the dirty spots on the tiles and scrubbed them clean. Next came the outside of the toilet - how long had it been since someone had cleaned this bathroom? It was pretty gross. 'Okaa-san wasn't exaggerating,' she thought. 'I don't even want to know what kinds of bacteria are spawning in all of this.'

That was when things began to change. It was at that thought that she no longer trusted the legitimacy of her own eyes and other senses. Whenever someone asked her what had happened to make her go blind, she explained that she was cleaning the bathroom, which was particularly disgusting. She said that, as she was spraying the part of the toilet above her, the cleaner exploded. She said she didn't know why. And what she said was a lie.

She felt something unfamiliar, something scary, as though one of the monsters her sister conjured up in her mind was watching her through the window. She hesitated in cleaning the upper part of the toilet, but then scolded herself. 'Nee-chan is really rubbing off on me,' she thought. 'Next thing I know, I'll be afraid of spiders too.' The next part was almost the same as what she told people, but with a pretty important variable involved.

As she lifted the spray-bottle up above her, which she would realize later was rather unintelligent all on its own - after all, any lose spray would probably end up either in her eyes or invading her lungs - she saw the strangest creature flying outside the window. It was small, maybe the height of a pencil, and had bright green hair and fuschia eyes. The smirk adorning its face was unnerving, and its hands and feet appeared to have little claws on the ends in place of fingers. It seemed like it was wearing a kimono made for a small doll - but that was the final sight her eyes took in. In that moment, the creature let out a piercing laugh and the spray bottle exploded in a bright flash of light. Her eyes felt as though a thousand, burning needles had been roughly stabbed into them from the invasive white light as the reverberations from the explosion pushed her back. Her head fell to the floor, and the last thing she truly remembered was the sticky feel of blood seeping from the back of her head and the sting of acid on her exposed arms.

She woke up in a hard bed, her body covered in some scratchy cloth. She was confused at first. She knew it wasn't her own bed at home. Had she decided to visit a friend's house? No. Did her mother finally let her spend the night at Ryo's house? Not possible. 'Why can't I remember where I am?' she asked herself. 'And why is it so dark?' Then she felt someone squeeze her hand.

"Naomi, can you go get the Matsumoto-san? I think she's waking up," Kaiya heard a familiar voice - her mother's. 'Okay,' she thought. 'I am in a hospital. Probably my parents' hospital. But what happened?' She tried to remember. It was the weekend. Her father had gone to work. And her mother had asked her and her sister to clean the bathroom. Then Marika had snuck away to go to the arcade with Yanagashita-san. Then what happened?

It came back to her all at once. She remembered the grime on the floor and toilet, the baby blue rag, and the intensely uncomfortable feeling that she got before she saw that creature outside the window. And then she realized it was ridiculous. Obviously the bottle had still exploded - why else would she be in the hospital? - but that creature could not have existed. Cleaning products let out chemical fumes. Some people reacted negatively to certain chemicals in the air. The green-haired creature was probably a hallucination. It was then that she decided to never tell anyone about what she had seen. No, if anyone asked, she would tell them the facts - the straight details of what happened - and leave out her ridiculous hallucinations.

"It's nice to see you awake, Kaiya," a friendly, male voice said. She was confused again. She was certain her eyes were open - she blinked a few times just to make sure - so why was the room so dark? "How are you feeling?"

"I-" she choked out. Her voice was raspy and dry. She felt something cold - a glass? - press against her lower lip and took a sip of its contents. Water. Nice, refreshing water. "I'm fine. But it's really dark in here. Why didn't anyone turn on the lights?"

The room was silent for a few moments, save for the light footsteps of someone moving closer to her. She heard a light clicking noise. "Hm," the man muttered. She heard the clicking sound again. Then all she could hear was breathing. The hand in hers - most likely her mother's - squeezed tightly, as though afraid she would disappear were their hands to part. "It's just as I feared. But first, can you tell me what happened? Your mother was only able to tell me how she found you."

Kaiya paused. He hadn't responded to her question about the lights. Something about her condition was "just as he feared." Even though she was only fourteen, Kaiya was intelligent. She could add together facts. Before her head had hit the ground, she remembered her eyes were in pain. She remembered her lessons in Chemistry: if you get a chemical in your eyes, immediately go to the sink and wash them out. It was common sense, really. Obviously, some of the chemical got into her eyes - after all, the bright light was probably part of her hallucination. Cleaning spray doesn't illuminate that much light if it explodes. So acidic chemicals it was. Unfortunately, you can't wash out your eyes if you are unconscious.

"I was cleaning the bathroom," she began weakly, her voice still a bit raspy. "I'm not really sure what happened. I'd just finished cleaning the floor and moved on to the toilet. I didn't really make the best decision to hold the bottle higher than my face, but before I could spray it, it exploded. I guess it got in my eyes, and I fell back and hit my head. That's all I remember." She blinked her eyes a few times again, testing out her theory.

"It's understandable," the man explained. "You have a minor concussion from the fall, so some memories might come back to you later on. Your mother managed to wipe the excess acids off of your exposed skin quickly enough to avoid it doing any permanent damage. Other than a bit of bleeding from your head that was stopped easily enough, the only other damage was in your eyes." His voice had turned grave, and Kaiya was absolutely certain, then, that her theory was spot on. "We tried as hard as we could to control the chemical damage in your eyes, but it had progressed too far by the time you got here. I'm sorry to tell you this, but you aren't going to be able to see anymore."

A sob came from her side - from her mother - and the grip on her hand tightened even more. Kaiya was beginning to lose feeling in her fingers. She didn't cry. It didn't feel real. A part of her mind, the logical part, was explaining things to her. 'It's dark because you can't see,' it said. 'You'll be fine, though. Plenty of people can't see. Some people are born blind. You can still visualize pictures in your mind. At least you can still hear. At least you didn't lose an arm or something. Or lose all of your memories.'

The other side of her mind couldn't handle the truth. 'I'm just dreaming,' it told her. 'I'll wake up. Maybe I'll even be in the bathroom. I won't have seen anything strange. My vision isn't actually gone. It's all just a dream.'

"Kaiya, are you okay?" her mother asked, finally lightening her grip. Kaiya was too immersed in her opposing thoughts to respond verbally; she nodded. She heard footsteps again, though this time they were moving away from her.

"I'll leave you two alone for now," the doctor said. "I'll come back in thirty minutes or so to talk to you about the best ways to deal with the situation."

And that was what he did. In the time they were alone, Kaiya didn't speak to her mother. Natsuki tried to start various conversations. She asked if Kaiya wanted her to give Ryo, her boyfriend of almost six months, a call. She tried to tell her what a nice day it was outside. She drew little pictures on Kaiya's hand like she had done when Kaiya would run into her room in the middle of the night as a child, upset from a bad dream. It wasn't soothing anymore.

The doctor came back and began to explain the actions they needed to take. Kaiya would need to stay in the hospital for another day or so for the doctors to ensure that her concussion was fully healed and that no further damage had been done to her eyes than what they had already detected. After that, she would need to go to a specialized school for students with disabilities. Since she couldn't read anymore, she wouldn't be able to attend any of the high schools she had placed on her list of possibilities. And finally, after school each day she would see a physical therapist that would assist her in learning to move around on her own. It was right after he finished that explanation that Kaiya felt her sister, and heard her footsteps, come to a halt in the doorway.

Everyone was silent. The doctor had stopped explaining how her life was to be taken out of her control. Her mother didn't make a sound. All she could hear were the loud breaths coming from her sister - she must have been running.

Kaiya couldn't remember exactly what her sister had said to her. She remembered apologies. She remembered her other hand being squeezed just as tightly as earlier. She remembered the cold liquid dripping down onto her arm - Marika was crying. She must have slipped further into her state of shock at that point. The apologies didn't mean much to her. It wasn't as though Marika could have stopped the bottle from exploding. All she could think about was how her individuality was being taken from her.

It only got worse from there. She got frustrated easily. Her mother and father spent even more time than they had before at the hospital, though that could have been a coincidence. She had become hard to deal with, and it seemed that Marika was the only one who had the patience to try to work around it. Unfortunately, that patience came with a price.

Every morning, Kaiya would wake up to her sister kindly setting out clothes for her to wear. Marika would then help her get dressed and pick up her things for school. They would go downstairs, and Marika would either make breakfast or get something they had stored. She would clean the dishes, and then she would walk Kaiya to school. Classes went by monotonously, and physical therapy wasn't much more entertaining. Her sister would then promptly arrive and walk her home.

That wasn't all, though. Marika wouldn't let Kaiya do anything. Ever. It made sense at first; Kaiya couldn't move around much on her own without stumbling and running into walls for the first few months that she was blind. She appreciated her sister's attention then. Getting home wasn't something she could have navigated on her own. But it didn't stop. Kaiya insisted that she was fine. She had reached a point where she knew she would be able to get dressed, navigate their house, and go to and from school on her own. Even though she couldn't see the pathways, her body remembered exactly where to go.

This even progressed further. It wasn't just that Marika would go everywhere Kaiya did; it reached the point where Marika would insist on bring her sister wherever she went as well. It was too much. Day after day, Kaiya lost a chip of her individuality. Before she was blind, she would paint. She had been decently talented. Every time she painted something she thought was a success, she convinced her parents to hang it somewhere people could see it if they came to visit. But it wasn't the same anymore.

She snapped out of her memories as a clock chimed, signifying the end of the school day.

"Remember, if you have any after school appointments, they are canceled for the day," her teacher informed the class - all five of them. She blocked out everything around her as she picked up her backpack and slid it onto her shoulders. Her right hand trailed along the desks she passed and then along the wall, all the way to the doorway. The room led straight outside - there weren't enough high-school students with disabilities similar to hers in the area where she lived to warrant a building with multiple classrooms.

Her sister would be disappointed in her. She stepped out into the rain without pulling on a jacket or using any sort of umbrella. She didn't like water, but rain felt solid enough that it could soothe her where a large body of water could not. Her bangs stuck to her forehead as she made her way on the sidewalk; she had walked the same path, almost every day, for four years. She didn't have trouble staying on the correct pathway. While she had lost her sight, she hadn't lost her directional skills or perceptive nature to sense things around her. It was why she liked to be outside.

When she was stuck inside a building, she felt the most blind. If there were people in the room, they brought some life into it, but everything around her was generally nonexistent. It all just felt dead. Outside, however, even the air around her felt alive. She could hear bugs zooming by her head and feel the looming presence of trees close by. The rain dulled those senses, but it was equally exhilarating. It wasn't that her other four senses had been improved since she was blind - that was just an old wives' tale. The truth was that she had to rely on them more, so it made it seem as though they had improved. Without her brain focusing on visual images, it had the freedom to hear the world, feel sensations, and taste and smell to a more detailed degree than ever before.

Some parts of being blind were almost beautiful.

When Kaiya felt about nine or ten minutes of walking had passed, she stopped every now and then to press her right, big toe into the sidewalk. Right in front of the turn to her own home's sidewalk there was an exceptionally deep crack she had noticed the first time she needed to walk home on her own. At that point, the rain had made her hair heavy and her clothes stuck to her skin. After a few tries, her toe slipped into the crack and she made a sharp turn to the left, walking up her sidewalk. When her foot gently tapped on the stairs leading up to the front porch, she stepped up once, twice, three times and unlocked the door with relative ease.

Following routine, she dropped her back to the floor, closed the door behind her, and changed her tennis shoes out for her slippers. Normally she would go up to her room and do homework, but there was never anything assigned on Fridays. Instead, she walked to the stairs, trailing her hand along the wall as she went, and made her way into her bedroom.

She remembered what it looked like. It wasn't large. On the farthest wall was her bed, covered in a dark blue comforter. A dark brown table sat beside it with a lamp on top - though the lamp was useless now. No one had ever had the care to take it out of the room. There was a window in the middle of the wall that had a view of the front yard and road, and in front of it sat her easel and a stool. On the opposite side of the room as her bed was a desk the same shade of brown as her dresser and the door leading into her closet.

She took some comfort in being able to visualize her surroundings. It wasn't that she hadn't accepted being blind; the doctor made it clear to her that day that there was no way her vision was going to come back. There was no point in hoping he was wrong. There was a reason he had been hired as a doctor, and she wouldn't try to undermine his authority with false hope. A stage four chemical burn in the eyes wasn't something that you could just recover from. But it was nice, sometimes, to be able to see the items she was touching, even if the images in her mind weren't as accurate from the years of not actually seeing anything.

The rain kept falling as Kaiya took a seat on the stool in front of her easel. A shelf right below the part that held up the canvas contained her paint set. She had the order memorized; it went from hot colors to cold colors, in the same order of the rainbow. She had long since given up on using a paint brush. Without the ability to see where it was going, it was all but useless. She either had to use her hands or not even bother trying.

This was an everyday activity for her. She would sit in front of her easel, where an empty canvas sat, waiting to be morphed into one of the works of art she used to be so proud of. First she had to decide what, exactly, she planned on painting. It changed daily. One day she would want to paint her room. The next, she might want to paint Ryo's eyes on one of the days they had been happy together. Perhaps the next day she would want to paint how her hospital room had looked, or how she imagined it did.

That day, she wanted nothing more than to paint rain falling down on a forest. The trees would be the most detailed part. After all, her affinity for trees was significantly stronger than any affinity she could pretend to have for water. She reached her hand on the shelf and grabbed what she knew to be her brown paint, her green paint, and a few shades of blue. 'Maybe today,' she thought. 'Today will finally be the day I can actually do it right.'

And she tried. She felt the full surface of the canvas, memorizing and visualizing the size, where the corners were, and conjuring up a mental image of how she wanted the finished painting to look. She felt confident. She spent a considerable amount of time on each trunk of each tree, shaping it to those she remembered in her backyard. The leaves were next, followed by a blue hue over the background. It her mind, it was just as beautiful as she could imagine it would be. And she waited for her under-layer of paint to dry.

After enough time passed where she could lightly press a finger to a trunk and feel that it was dry instead of sticky, she began to lightly trace her hands over the beginnings of her painting. Once again, her mental image was wrong. The lines of the trees were lumpy. The leaves were nothing but blobs of paint that couldn't be fixed no matter how much detail she planned on adding. The blue in the background wasn't evenly spread. She failed. Again, she was incapable of reproducing the image in her mind on the piece of canvas before her.

And in her frustration, she hit the canvas so hard that her small hand split the middle of it in half.

The rain had stopped its endless pattering, and Kaiya stood, picking up the ruined canvas and tossing it in the direction of her desk. There was a crash - perhaps her pencil holder fell off of her desk again. It was metal, so it was capable of producing such a sound. She quickly exited the room and made her way down the stairs but stopped abruptly when she felt her sister in front of her at the bottom.

This was a common occurrence. It generally happened a little later in the day, since Kaiya would only have just arrived home from physical therapy, but the general situation was the same as normal. "Kaiya, wait, you can't go outside," her older sister instructed.

"I need to," she responded, not in the mood to deal with her sister freaking out at that moment. She removed her slippers and lightly threw them in the general direction of the back door. "Why can't I?" Four years. For four years, her sister wouldn't even let her go into the backyard without a fight. It was seriously unnecessary.

"It's pouring rain outside," Marika answered, and Kaiya mentally rolled her eyes. She understood that she was more accustomed to using her ability to hear, but anyone should have noticed that the rain had clearly stopped pounding on the sides of the house.

"No it's not," she informed her sister, lightly shoving past the side of Marika's taller body and out the door. Even taking in that first breath of air took the edge off of her frustration. Though she liked trees in general, there was a particular one in her backyard that she liked the most. Even before she was blind, she had liked that tree. Maybe it was the oldest; she did remember it was taller than most of the others. It wasn't a problem for her to find it. It exuded a particular amount of energy, for lack of better word, that was unique. Whenever she got frustrated or upset, she would sit down underneath that tree and think.

She almost regretted her rash decision to come outside when she plopped down onto the grass, leaning back against her tree. She was only wearing a light dress, and the ground was still damp from the rain. It was usually up to Marika to make rash decisions, but when Kaiya was frustrated, she could do the same. She was also much too proud to go inside and get something to sit on, or to change into thicker pants. If she wanted to prove that she was capable of being her own person and making her own decisions, she could not show such a form of... well, a form of weakness.

Though it made no difference, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the bark. Any time she could use one of her remaining senses to "see" part of the world around her was a moment when she was lost in paradise. Her hair was still slightly damp from the walk home, and she could feel the rough curves of the bark lightly pressed into her scalp. Her hands fell beside her and she wove her fingers through the moist blades of grass. When she immersed herself this much in nature, she could completely let herself go and let her mind wander wherever it wanted to.

It wasn't uncommon for her to get so absorbed in the feeling of the trees, grass, and other foliage around her that she would lose track of the time. It was never a problem. Marika always came outside, sometimes spewing nonsense about evil beings that were clearly going to attack her if she didn't come inside, and eventually Kaiya would concede. It seemed as though it was taking a bit longer to get to that point on that particular evening, but she knew the time would come soon enough. Only, she didn't want it to. Staying outside made her feel alive. It made her feel like she had regained a part of her individuality. Unfortunately, the state of bliss her forest could put her in could only last for so long.

"Kaiya, come inside now."

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**Panda: So there is chapter two, in all its angsty glory. Oh the little things here and there that I didn't even **_**know**_** were as important as they really are.**

**Armadilllo: Like what? Oh, yeah. We can't tell you. It's funny looking back at this though. **

**Panda: Very true. Considering the fact that you are almost done with your half of this entire first arc. We haven't even left the house yet. We haven't even met HIEI!**

**Armadilllo: Yes, things are all happy for now (kinda). Soon enough, things will be really INTENSE!**

**Panda: Except for when Kaiya isn't doing anything. Because that takes a long time. **

**Armadilllo: But that second arc! Too OP. Would you like to grace us with the preview?**

**Panda: I would love to. However, before I give the wonderful readers my silly summary of chapter three, I feel like it is only fair to let them know that the romance, more so on my part than yours, moves very, very, very, very slowly. I mean, really. This IS Hiei we are talking about. On another note,**

**Next time, on **_**Alea Iacta Est**_**:**

**Chapter three, Jumping at Shadows**

**Homework; worry; coax inside; food; sleep**

**I know, I know, the spoilers are abound. To be completely honest, I might not be able to include my full summaries later on down the line or there would be no point in reading the next chapter!**

**Armadilllo went to the bathroom so I am just going to spew because it is fun. You should review. Reviews make me happy and inspire me to write more. And, seeing as how Armadilllo is very, very ahead of me, that extra inspiration could be a good thing. **

**I am also going to shamelessly advertise for my other story that I update every Sunday, The Tale of the Lost. It is Kingdom Hearts. And is RikuOC. And, later on down the line, some spiffy characters from this story (really, who IS Yaban Hito? Do you know?) will be making a cameo in there. Yeah. I think that is all I have to say. So now I will wait patiently for Armadilllo to come back and finish off this excessive authors' note.**

**It's been another minute. Still waiting. **

**Oh good. She is back now. After another minute.**

**Armadilllo: Well, now that our readers have been given WAY too much information about me...**

**Panda: She's glaring at me now. It's just pee. And now the eyes are rolling.**

**Armadilllo: Soon the heads will be. Like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.**

**Panda: We should get A's for effort on that quiz. Regardless, we are going to stop harassing you, dear readers, now. And we will see you again on Saturday!**

**C. E. Taylor & G. E. Hemmy**


	3. Jumping at Shadows

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**Jumping at Shadows**

**Review Replies:**

**random: You're very welcome! And no, you didn't misread. Kaiya's intended pairing is, in fact, with Hiei. Granted, that's gonna take a lot of time, for obvious reasons. Because Hiei is Hiei and Kaiya has issues, haha. But yes, the irony is fun. Plus we've taken some artistic liberties with Hiei's vaguely described telepathic powers, which adds even more fun and irony to the situation. I'm glad you're looking forward to development from her! It's pretty fun for me, and writing from the perspective of a blind person is a challenge. Thanks for reviewing again!**

**A/N:**

**Panda: Hello there dear readers. Updating this story is quite fun. So, we were watching Into The Woods, and it was funny. And stuff.**

**Armadilllo: And I managed to ruin it for Panda by comparing every single character to a character in our story. Lol, classic.**

**Panda: So let's all take a moment to picture dearest Hiei trying, and failing, to reproduce, and singing. About cows. And lots of other things. Just, really. Picture it. And try not to die like I did.**

**Armadilllo: But let's be serious, Bernadette Peters is Marika. And Kurama is... wait. I can't spoil that yet. I'll tell you when you're older.**

**Panda: But if we are being COMPLETELY serious, there aren't any complete parallels that could be found there. Since, you know, the princes were both whores. And then everyone died. And I may or may not be planning on killing anyone.**

**Armadilllo: Anyway, this chapter is pretty entertaining. It was my favorite to write. And if your hindsight is functioning at extraordinary levels (I find it unlikely; even I had trouble connecting it) you will see the foreshadowing in the snippets of history that I included.**

**Panda: Like, ninjas. Absolutely. Do I have any idea what I am saying right now? Nope. Does it matter? No. But yeah. So. We don't own anything. Except our characters and plot. And really: who is Yaban Hito?**

**Armadilllo: I DON'T KNOW! TELL ME, KENT WILLIAMS!**

**Panda: Oh Kent Williams. Without any further ado (which I actually mean this time) we present chapter three: Jumping at Shadows!**

* * *

Marika sat at her desk in the kitchen. It wasn't normal to have a desk in the kitchen, but Marika had convinced her parents to let her move it from her bedroom so that she could keep a closer eye on Kaiya. Her sister sat outside under a tree, staring angrily at the house.

The backyard was a mess. The flooding had really taken its toll. Deep puddles had been pounded into the ground with the force of the rain, making the entire area look like a bog. How Kaiya could stand sitting on the wet ground, Marika would never know. It had to be cold out there.

Marika wanted to go outside and tell Kaiya to come inside, or at least offer her a blanket to sit on and a jacket to keep her warm. But after her sister's vicious words earlier, Marika knew that Kaiya wanted to be left alone. She turned her attention back to the homework sitting on her desk.

_In 1185, the Minamoto family took over the control over Japan after defeating the Taira clan in the war. Minamoto Yoritomo was appointed shogun in the year 1192 and established a new government, the Kamakura Bakufu. The new feudal government was organized in a simpler way than the one in Kyoto and worked much more efficient under Japanese conditions._

Minamoto. The name was close enough to Minamino to remind her of her strange co-worker. Marika had never met anyone more nosy. It was as if he believed all information about her to be vital to his understanding of some greater plan. In that respect, he was almost like a girl. She had never known a straight man to be so nosy.

And more than that, he had acted like she was in real danger from the rain. The rain! The very idea that something so harmless could pose a threat was laughable. Though it was true that the rain had not been normal. What had happened to Shuichi was definitely not normal. He was somehow more attractive when he was vulnerable like that. And the way he had looked at her in the car, it almost seemed that he had liked her. But of course, that was just wishful thinking on her part. First of all, the evidence that Shuichi was gay was too overwhelming to ignore. And even if he was straight, Marika had promised herself long ago that she would not date anyone until her sister was happy. It was the least she could do after ruining her sister's life.

_After Yoritomo's death in 1199, quarrels for supremacy started between the Bakufu of__ Kamakura__ and the Imperial court in__ Kyoto__. Those quarrels for supremacy found an end in the Jokyu disturbance in 1221 when Kamakura defeated the Imperial army in Kyoto, and the Hojo regents in Kamakura achieved complete control over Japan. By redistributing the land gained during the Jokyu disturbance, they were able to achieve loyalty among all the powerful people throughout the country. The__ emperor__ and the remaining governmental offices in Kyoto lost practically all effective power._

The woods loomed up behind Kaiya like they would swallow her up. She looked so fragile from here. Her long, black hair starkly contrasted her light skin, and her eyes, though they were glaring off into the distance, remained blank and staring. She was so small, like a porcelain doll. It was still chilly outside after the rain and the wind had not let up at all. Her sister was only wearing a light dress and had not bothered to put a jacket on. As usual, she had not thought about anything to do with her own safety.

Looking at the clock, Marika noticed that dinner time had come and gone. Kaiya went on hunger strikes often, rebelling against Marika's orders to eat at correct times. And, of course, if her sister did not eat, then Marika could not eat. It was one of the only effective ways she had found to force her sister to see reason.

Kaiya was obstinate that she could take care of herself, but how could she say that when she could not even do simple things like maintaining homeostasis? If she really wanted to convince Marika that she could be independent, she should stop skipping meals and exposing herself to the elements.

The sun's last rays had long since faded, and the yard was dark except for a light on the porch placed there by Marika hours ago. This was part of their daily ritual. Kaiya would go outside and refuse to come in until hours after darkness had fallen, so recently Marika had taken to putting out this lamp as soon as Kaiya left the house.

_In 1232 a__ legal__ code, the Joei Shikimoku was promulgated. It stressed__ Confucian__ values such as the importance of loyalty to the master, and generally attempted to suppress a decline of morals and discipline. Tight control was maintained by the Hojo clan, and any signs of rebellions were destroyed immediately._

_The shogun stayed in Kamakura without much power while deputies of him were located in Kyoto and Western Japan. Stewards and constables controlled the provinces tightly and loyally. Indeed, the Hojo regents were able to bring several decades of peace and economic expansion to the country until an external power began to threaten Japan._

It was nine o'clock and Kaiya had still not come in. The light from the house barely reached her sister's face anymore, and Marika could hear creatures moving in the darkness. They crept along the ground, hiding in sinister shadow, slowly encroaching on Kaiya as Marika watched from the window. Carnivorous eyes stalked her from the bushes, glowing brightly in the darkness. Spiders crawled around her and wove webs to catch her should she try to move from that spot. Mosquitoes exuding a strange red glow flew up from spawning pools created by the recent storm, filling the air with harsh buzzing.

Marika tried to call out, but found that she couldn't. She blinked her eyes and every imagined danger disappeared. Kaiya was alone and safe, even if she was still hungry and cold. Marika climbed unsteadily to her feet and braced herself by clutching onto the back of her chair. She exchanged her slippers for her tennis shoes and went out the back door, causing her sister to turn her head at the noise.

"Kaiya, come inside now," Marika said. She tried to swallow down her worry but she could still hear it in the words she spoke. She cursed herself silently. Kaiya responded only to logical arguments. Telling her she had seen evil things in the shadows would only make it harder to get her to agree to come inside.

"Why should I?" Kaiya asked. "It seems to me that I would be doing the same thing no matter where I am, so what's the point?"

Marika paused for a moment. It was always hardest for her to deal with Kaiya when she was like this. "You don't want to be tired tomorrow when we go to Mushiyori City, do you?"

"It isn't like I want to go, anyway," she replied, facing in the direction away from Marika's voice. "It's just something better to do than sit around here on a Saturday pretending to stare at a wall. I'd be just as content sleeping," she finished monotonously. Marika began to move closer.

"Kaiya, I don't understand your attitude," Marika responded. "There comes a point when you need to figure out your own motivation. You could be happy if you tried. You don't have to let the situation control you."

Marika was rather impatient to get Kaiya inside at this point. While she was talking, the creatures again came into her vision, but when she blinked, they were gone. It was as if her eyes took a long time to adjust to seeing in the pitch blackness of night and as soon as she blinked, she reset them. She wished that Kaiya would just listen to her.

"Oh, that's funny," Kaiya said, rising from the grass with her hand braced on the tree behind her. "Very funny. How am I supposed to find the motivation to be happy when everything I do is dictated by you and what you think is best for me?" She started walking away and further into the woods, following the path of the trees.

Widening her eyes, Marika took off at a run in the direction of her sister. The words had stung, but how were they even going to finish their argument if the creatures in the woods ate her sister? She grabbed her sister's arm. "Kaiya, wait! Don't move."

The younger girl ripped her arm away, continuing on her pathway without any regard to her sister's slightly panicked warning. "That is exactly what I mean," she muttered, just loud enough for Marika to hear. "Kaiya, let me walk you home from therapy. Kaiya, let me tuck you in. Kaiya, don't go outside so far that I can't see you. Can't you see how old it gets? How overbearing you are? I suppose it's convenient that I can't paint anymore. If I actually had anything to do, you would never give me enough of a chance to be my own person to get it done."

"Yes, I hate you so much that I try to keep you alive!" Marika yelled at her sister. "If you don't care one way or another then it is up to me to decide for you. I _want _you to paint again. I _want _you to find someone who you can be happy with. I want you to find happiness more than you do yourself!"

She grabbed her sister's arm and tugged her into circle of light emanating from the house. "Now, you can hate me. You can yell, kick, and scream, but we are going into the house."

Kaiya had stopped struggling and allowed her sister to pull her back in the direction of their empty home. "I never said you hated me," she muttered, her tone changing from the frustration it held earlier to a melancholy murmur. "And it isn't like I want to go kill myself or something. But I'm not going to be able to find happiness if I can't go and look for it."

"I understand," Marika said quietly, "but why can't we look for it together? We can start tomorrow fresh and enjoy our trip out of town. I can try to back off. I just worry, you know I do."

"I get it, okay?" Kaiya responded. "I know that you blame yourself for it. But you've got to understand that I'm not fourteen anymore. I'm eighteen years old and there are some parts of life I need to be able to experience on my own." The pair stopped in front of the back door. "I'll still go tomorrow. I guess… maybe it'll be nice." She whispered the last part to herself, probably not intending for Marika to hear it.

Marika smiled to herself. "Well, we better get some dinner together then."

She opened the door for her sister and resisted the urge to help her over the lip of the door. Kaiya stepped over it easily enough anyway, so there really was no reason to worry. Kaiya sat silently at her sister's desk while Marika took some onigiri out of the fridge and heated up two bowls of miso soup to go with it. As they ate, Marika took the opportunity to lighten the mood.

"I had a strange day at work," she said brightly. "This guy I work with, Minamino Shuichi, well, he's pretty strange."

"Oh?"

"He is very gay. And when I say very, I mean ve-ry," Marika said, separating the syllables for emphasis. "And nosy. But generally he is okay. You'll meet him on Monday. He is insisting on driving us both home from now on."

"And you think he is gay because…?" Kaiya prompted, taking a bite out of one rice ball.

Marika lowered her voice as if someone could hear them. "Well, he has been spotted around town with various male lovers. And besides that, he is very into art and dresses impeccably."

"So," Kaiya began, "any male that takes the time to look nice and is seen with other males is a homosexual? I find that hard to believe. And I know plenty of straight guys that are into art." She took another bite of her food. "But if you're sure, I won't try to convince you. It isn't as though I've met the guy."

"Oh, I'm sure," Marika said. "It's not that common for guys your age to be so open about things like this, but once you get to university, things change. People experiment a lot more."

"Hm," she responded. "And here I thought people got their experimentation phase out in junior high. But I could always be wrong," she finished bitterly.

Marika laughed nervously. "Well, enough about that anyway. I think we should pack a picnic for tomorrow. We're supposed to have great weather. Oh, and we can have some mochi on the train!"

"That sounds nice," Kaiya said, apparently refraining from darkening the mood again. She finished the last of her food and carefully stacked her bowl on top of her plate, sliding them forward on the table a bit.

"Can you get to bed on your own?" Marika asked casually, standing up and taking both her dishes and her sister's to the sink. "I still have homework to do."

Kaiya's filmy eyes widened and she opened and closed her mouth a few times before responding. "Of course I can," she answered, her voice coated in surprise.

Marika nodded without turning. "Goodnight then. Sweet dreams."

Her sister's surprise made her smile. Ever since the accident, she supposed that she had babied Kaiya a bit. Though she had never known that it bothered her sister as much as it did. Marika supposed that it made sense. What eighteen-year-old wanted their sister to tuck them in every night for four years? It was embarrassing. Not to mention the other little things that Marika did for her sister. Kaiya had not worn an outfit in years that she had picked out herself, nor had she been allowed to dress herself, for obvious reasons. Perhaps it was overkill.

But at least Marika was trying to change her behavior. That had to give her some points with Kaiya. She really didn't want to be the cause of her sister's unhappiness. She washed the dishes as she thought about her exchange with her sister. Shuichi, not gay? That was just crazy. Marika almost laughed at the thought. Not to mention the other things.

Marika had lied about the homework. She had finished a long time ago, but she wanted to give Kaiya some space. She stayed downstairs long enough to avoid her sister's suspicions, getting ahead on some of the reading. Then she began the long trek upstairs to her room.

Marika hated sleeping. The process was supposed to bring you relief after a long day of activity, but for her it just mired her in thoughts and worries. If she ever managed to get to sleep in a reasonable amount of time, she swore she would die from the shock of it. The only times she managed to get a good night's rest were when she all but passed out from exhaustion. And that was when the dreams came.

They always very clear, as if they were a memory instead of a dream. She saw them as she would see anything in life. It was no out-of-body experience and she never had a good idea of where she was. They were never about something that had actually happened though. Some were scary. Once she had dreamed that she was drowning in an ocean. Weeks before her sister's accident, she had a dream of walking her sister home from the school for the blind. Some were just random, like her dream of the three-eyed alien and his fox friend. It was ridiculous! Something like that could never happen in real life.

She dressed for bed slowly, taking her time in the hopes that by the time she actually ended up in bed she would be tired enough to sleep. But when she finally laid down, she knew it was all in vain. It was like someone had glued her eyes open, which, now that she thought about it, seemed like a very difficult thing to do. How would one put glue on the eyes to keep them open? Perhaps if you put the glue on the eyelids, but then how would you ensure that they stayed open long enough for the glue to hold? And why would you do that in the first place?

She then noticed that she had forgotten something very important. The lights were still on. Reluctantly, she got out of bed and walked over to the light switch. She took a breath to steady herself and then flicked off the lights. Then, trying to make it to her bed before protection of the lights fully left the room, she scrambled across the room and dove into bed, feeling the glare of many eyes on her back as she hastily covered herself with her blankets. She clamped her eyes shut and shivered in her bed.

Why did the darkness make everything scarier? She knew there was no one in the room with her, so why did she feel as if someone was going to jump out of her closet with a knife and stab her while she slept? Or maybe they would come unarmed and strangle her with their bare hands. It didn't matter, they wouldn't come. There was no one. No one was in the room. Even if they were, why should it matter?

There was nothing she could do about it. She was weak, she would not be able to withstand an attack if it came. Marika just hoped she could scream loud enough to alert Kaiya. But what if they went after her first? Marika almost jumped out of bed to go check on her sister but she could not move. She was paralyzed in the darkness: her legs were pinned down and her arms were frozen under her pillow. Why was she so scared? There was nothing out there.

But what if there was? Was she not brave enough to risk her life for Kaiya's? If so, what kind of person was she? She had already ruined enough things for her sister. It didn't matter how she felt anymore. She had given up all rights to her own happiness the day she had decided that hanging out in the arcade with her current boyfriend was more important than her sister. Kaiya spent all her time in darkness now, so why should Marika be spared the tortuous nights?

This fear was silly. She should be able to open her eyes. It wasn't that hard - just a simple movement of the eyelids and she would be able to see that there was nothing wrong. She opened her eyes for a brief moment. The darkness masked the true colors of the room. Her closet was open. Why was her closet open? She could have sworn that she had closed it. Was there really someone in there? Should she say something to them? Her throat was sticky with dread.

She caught sight of another shadow out of the corner of her eye. It looked like the silhouette of a man, but it was on the ceiling! No one could possibly climb onto the ceiling, could they? Maybe if they used suction cups. Why would they need to get onto the ceiling anyway? The only people Marika could think of who would need that amount of stealth were trained assassins. THERE WERE TRAINED ASSASSINS ON HER CEILING!

Wait. That made no sense. Who would hire an assassin to kill her in the middle of the night? She wasn't important enough to warrant such effort. Were her parents? What if they weren't really doctors, but some kind of spies? No, that sounded like it came out of a movie. It was just her ceiling fan.

Calm down. She just needed to calm down. She closed her eyes again. What did people do when they needed to sleep? Count sheep? She pictured a meadow; it was bright and sunny and full of flowers, like something from a dream. Too bad this wasn't a dream. Then she would be sleeping. There was a fence and some sheep. Did sheep really jump over fences? No, Marika didn't think so. Maybe she should just put the sheep in an enclosure. Or should she let them graze? There were too many decisions to be made.

She was sure the sheep would be happier if they were allowed to graze, but it would be much simpler to count them if they were all in one place. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. No. One moved; she had to start all over. One, two, three, four, five, six. Why couldn't these sheep stay still? One, two, three.

Maybe she should just try to breath calmly. People breathed more slowly when they were asleep, didn't they? Marika was distracted by the sense that the darkness in the room was physically touching her. That wasn't possible. Not unless all ghost stories were true and people really did haunt the places where they had lived. Had someone died in her room? She could imagine a girl's voice wailing for attention. She turned on a lamp that was attached to her bed frame, flooding the room with light.

No, there was no one touching her. Breathing. She was supposed to be breathing. Normally. She started to count how long it took her to breath in. One. And out. One. No! That was too short. Better to breath more deeply. One, two, three, four. And out. One, two, three, four. Perhaps these breaths were taking too long. The whole point was to relax so that she could sleep. She shouldn't force her lungs to breathe at an unnatural pace. She should just let it happen. But what if she could never get to sleep?

* * *

**Armadillo: Ahh, yes, that was fun to write. I hope your minds were sufficiently boggled. Marika has some issues with sleeping, if you couldn't tell :)**

**Panda: Really? I never would have guessed.**

**Armadilllo: Yeah, me neither. ;) But anyway, there are some interesting things in this chapter. Things that no one even knew about at the time.**

**Panda: I know, right? We are so legit that our story knew things we didn't. And then I have epiphanies in the middle of the night sometimes when I am delirious and it ALL comes together. That happened last night.**

**Armadilllo: And other things happen spontaneously while we write our chapters. Like chapter 13. It's intense.**

**Panda: I was so shocked when you did what you did in chapter 13. I was just like 'wat r u doing?' Really. Anyway, so the next chapter preview!**

**Chapter Four: Water, Water Everywhere**

**Bullet train; dream; lake; picnic; duck**

**Very informative, I know. It's too much. I've spoiled everything.**

**Armadilllo: Lol. Yes. I can't believe you included the duck in there. He is the least important. Anyway, check in next Saturday for all this and more!**

**Panda: And maybe, one day, you will find out who Yaban Hito is. One day. See you next time, and, as always, reviews are love, love is inspiration, and inspiration means we will NEVER miss an update!**

**C. E. Taylor & G.E. Hemmy**


	4. Water, Water, Everywhere

**Heart of Life: **_**Alea Iacta Est**_

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**Water, Water, Everywhere**

**A/N:**

**Armadilllo: Boy howdy! How're y'all doing?**

**Panda: I'm dying. From dancing a super lot. And life. And mental exhaustion. And... life.**

**Armadilllo: I just watched a man being waxed. It was... fun. I guess.**

**Panda: And I like a guy that is potentially gay. That is the summaries of our days. Waxing and potentially-homosexual men. What amazing lives we both lead.**

**Armadilllo: Btw, **_**this**_** potentially-homosexual man has nothing to do with Kurama. We wrote these chapters a long time before we met him.**

**Panda: True that. Besides, if this were mirroring our lives, Hiei would be the potentially-homosexual one, not Kurama. Since Kaiya is my character and Marika is yours. Good times.**

**Armadilllo: Yup. Anyway, we don't own any of these people. Except Marika and Kaiya. And assorted others who you won't recognize. But we don't own Kirin.**

**Panda: Wow. I have nothing to say to that. Entirely irrelevant for a long, long time. Anyway, I am slightly dehydrated AND high off of endorphins, so I'm going to let you read the chapter now before I say something even more dumb than normal. Yeah. Enjoy!**

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Kaiya's brief moment of freedom was not meant to last. It had been nice to get dressed for bed by herself. It had been nice to get into her bed and cover herself without being assisted as though she was some two-year-old. She had been blunt with her sister the night before, and her words had probably cut deeper than normal. Obviously, the way around her sister's guilt was to make her feel even more guilty about something else.

Unfortunately, that conflict that Kaiya was certain churned in Marika's mind was not strong enough to last the morning. As usual, her sister woke her up and gently pulled her out of bed. Kaiya suppressed the urge to groan. It was back to being treated like an invalid. She put herself into a daze as her sister undressed her and pulled a dress over her head. She couldn't think about it. If she thought about it, she would get angry. If she got angry, she would start yelling at Marika. If she started yelling at Marika, she would be even more unhappy than normal for their trip to Mushiyori City. Therefore, she couldn't think about it.

Before her sister could pull her out of the room, Kaiya slipped her best hair-tie onto her wrist. Marika's warm hand was promptly on her arm, directing her out of the room and down the stairs, talking about some nonsense that Kaiya didn't have the heart to pay attention to. It was rarely actually relevant information.

"Where, exactly, are we going again?" Kaiya asked. Her sister excitedly reminded her that their destination was a relatively well-known park on the outskirts of the city that apparently had a gorgeous lake. Kaiya remembered why she wasn't excited. The lake. Kaiya liked trees. Trees were alive, and she could feel the life emanating from them. Water was not alive - at least, not in the same way that trees were. If she was surrounded in water, she couldn't feel life around her. Her minimal abilities to pretend that she could envision her surroundings disappeared. She couldn't keep track of where the ground was. It was almost as though she would revert into her physical state the way it was right after she had gone blind. Therefore, she didn't like water.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. The two siblings had a quick breakfast before making the relatively short walk to the train that would then carry them on a three hour ride to Mushiyori City. Kaiya didn't like to talk when she was travelling, a trait that was in extreme contrast with that of Marika. Marika felt the need to keep her mind occupied and almost always wanted to play a word game or something similar. Kaiya would rather sleep.

Sometimes, as was such on that day, she could block out her older sister enough to actually fall asleep. If there was one thing that Kaiya could honestly say she hated - not just disliked, but hated - it was dreaming. Not even the act of dreaming, really. She hated remembering her dreams. That was because, generally, she could see in her dreams. If she remembered them, they just brought back a tiny, lingering desire to see again. She noticed what that desire had done to her sister, and she certainly didn't plan on ending up the same way.

Her dreams were never memories. Even if they had a fragment of a memory embedded somewhere in the middle of them, it was generally a bunch of nonsense that was probably symbolic, but not enough so for her to bother attempting to decipher what it meant.

She had a particular habit of dreaming about water.

If ever Kaiya had a bad dream, something that left her feeling severely unsettled when she awoke, it was a dream about water. It was likely that the thought festering in her mind, 'we are going to a lake,' was what prompted the dream.

"Kaiya, come get in the water with me!" she heard her sister exclaim as an image came into view. Marika was splashing around in a large, bright blue lake directly ahead of her. Her dark brown hair was in a long braid, just as it had been on most occasions four years ago, and her dark blue eyes sparkled with life. There were times people had thought her strange for that blue eye color, which came from the siblings' grandfather on their mother's side, but she hadn't heard anything recently about it.

Removing her focus from her sister, she looked up and saw that the sky was a deep shade of green, and the grass under her feet had taken on the light-blue hue that she was certain belonged to the sky. A bright orange bird seemed to slither past her feet through the discolored grass, and she swore she could see a pure, white bear walking through the sky.

She hadn't been able to see in four years, but she was certain that the sky was blue and the grass was green. As that fact floated through her mind, she also remembered that she couldn't see. She would be damned if she had somehow spontaneously recovered from her blindness. It just wasn't possible. No, she definitely could not see. So that left few options.

She could be on drugs. Perhaps someone had found a way to make her inhale some chemical on the train and she was hallucinating.

Not likely.

She had to be dreaming.

"I'm not getting in the water," she heard herself respond to her sister. This had happened before. The dream would go on, with her aware that she was dreaming, but being unable to control any of her own actions or words.

"Aw, come on," Marika whined. "It feels great!" She began to make her way to the edge of the water. The speed of Kaiya's heartbeat increased drastically, beating so hard she was certain it would break past the ribs protecting it and burst out of her chest, palpitating on the ground.

"No," she asserted again, glad that her dream self was complying with her wishes. "Seriously, nee-chan, I don't want to get in." She wrapped her arms around her torso and took a step back, edging father from the lake.

Unfortunately, her sister was clearly feeling much more enthusiastic than her, and her longer legs managed to reach Kaiya before she ever had a chance to get away. "It'll be fun, Kaiya! I'm not just going to leave you over on the edge by yourself, you know," she explained. Kaiya clenched her eyes shut, returning to the world of darkness she had become so accustomed to.

It didn't seem strange to her that she was more comfortable in darkness than she was in a world full of lights and colors and shapes. Maybe at first, at the most for the first year or so, she would have taken her ability to see in her sleep as a comfort. Not anymore. Just like how someone who can see is unsettled by the darkness if they suddenly become blind, a person accustomed to that darkness can be just as easily unsettled by the spontaneous ability to see again.

She felt her sister slowly pulling her forward, almost as if the dream had turned into slow motion. If she kept her eyes closed, perhaps her body would remember that it was a dream and she wouldn't be able to feel anything. However, that was not the case. Step by step, Marika pulled her further and further into the water. She noticed she wasn't wearing shoes, and her bare feet were sinking about a centimeter deep into the mud at the bottom. She couldn't feel her sister's hands on her arms anymore. She just kept walking, and walking, and walking.

When the water had reached her chin, she opened her eyes. Floating right in front of her face, pointing and laughing at her, was that stupid creature she had seen when the cleaning supplies exploded. It's green hair was still just as vibrant, and its eyes just as pink. And then everything went dark again. Even when she blinked her eyes, she still couldn't see the strange, mismatched world, or the creature in front of her.

She could feel her legs sinking, inch by inch, further into the mud. The water was rising up around her, and after it was just over the top of her head, she lost her ability to feel anything. Her body entered a state of complete numbness and the slight pressure she still could feel seemed like dead skin pressing down on her. Her mouth opened then and, in place of taking in too much oxygen, water began to fill her lungs, stinging its way down her throat.

And then she woke up to her sister shaking her. Apparently, three hours had passed and the two had arrived at their destination. "So he would just bring lemons out onto the battlefield with him." Kaiya furrowed her brow in confusion. They had just stepped off of the train, and apparently she had missed the entire introduction to whatever nonsense her history-major sister was spewing this time.

"Oh, did he really?" she asked, making an attempt to play along. She was still too shaken by her dream to be able to fully focus on the conversation.

"Yes. Well, he didn't eat them during the battle. But while they were out campaigning, he would carry them around with him so that he had something to prevent scurvy," Marika explained. Her dream had been one of the more disturbing ones she had experienced lately. The mismatched sky and grass, and the confused animals, were common. In fact, she also tended to end up in a large pool of water with that stupid creature she hallucinated laughing at her. The difference was that she had actually - 'Wait a second,' she thought, interrupting her own musing. 'I don't even know what scurvy _is_.'

"Scurvy," she said. "Tough times."

"Indeed. Though it must have been difficult to stomach those lemons. He ate them without honey or sugar or anything," her sister continued. While Kaiya would normally be annoyed at such a conversation and tune it out, thinking about whatever came to mind, this time it was different. She didn't want to think about her dream, how the water felt, or how they were going to a park that had a lake in the middle of it.

"That's interesting," she commented monotonously. "Tell me more."

"He had a lot of interesting habits. Like he also believed that if he ate a single grain of black pepper, then he would lose circulation in his left leg."

Kaiya still had no clue who her sister was talking about. It was time to pull the facts together; how could she adequately participate in the conversation if she had no idea what was going on? A gust of wind blew a bit of her hair over her shoulder as she thought of her next strategic comment. "That doesn't make even the slightest bit of sense."

"He was a peculiar man. His daily routine was very strict. He would bathe in cold water early in the morning and then walk a mile before morning prayers and breakfast. He was very religious, you can imagine, since he did this every day. And he also used to hold his left arm above his head because he thought that it would improve the circulation to his heart," Marika continued; obviously this was a subject the brunette knew well.

'Okay,' Kaiya thought. 'He bathes in cold water every day. But he has so many strange habits. So clearly there wasn't enough science at the time to disprove his ridiculous theories. Time period. I just need to figure out the time period.' She considered how to respond next. "Yeah, I guess he also cared about his personal hygiene. Didn't people not bathe that often back then?" she asked.

"I think that you are thinking more about the middle ages," Marika mocked with a light laugh. "Bathing wasn't as common as it is now, but they bathed more than once a month. He was really concerned about his health; that is why he bathed so often, and the whole pepper and lemons stuff."

'Not the middle ages,' she thought. 'I could have guessed that. I suppose they had indoor plumbing. But if they had indoor plumbing...' The lines of deduction running through her mind weren't making sense. "I don't get it. I mean, was there no science at all back then to prove him wrong? Any kind of doctor?"

"Well, it didn't really matter to him what science said, I guess. He was a military man born in the woods of what was then Virginia. Plus, I suppose it could have also been because of his religion. But I don't think that was the only reason. Some people think that he had aspergers, so it may have also been that he just didn't like asking doctors questions," her older sister finished.

Kaiya was at a loss. Her options had been narrowed down. This man was in the military. He was born in Virginia and, therefore, America. He had many strange habits and disregarded science. The time period included indoor plumbing and scientists and doctors. She regretted to admit that never in her history classes had they ever gone that in-depth about any single person in American history; in fact, they rarely spoke of American history unless it affected their own.

"Right," Kaiya began. "And who was this, again?" Though Marika would never know it, she won a battle in that moment. Not an important battle, no, nothing that would make Kaiya give up on her remaining fight for her own individuality, but just a small victory. Something that reminded Kaiya that she didn't know everything and had to listen to others sometimes to help make a correct decision.

"Stonewall Jackson. He was a general in the American Civil War in the mid-19th century," Marika explained, not seeming the slightest bit curious as to why Kaiya had 'forgotten' that part of the conversation. "Crazy Americans," she joked.

Kaiya noticed her sister had stopped moving and assumed that meant they had finally arrived in the park where they were going to sit down and have picnic. The lake was irrelevant. Kaiya had complete control over her own body. She knew that her sister was not actually stupid enough to try and make her get in the water. It wasn't a secret that it gave her anxiety; she hyperventilated one time to such a degree that she had actually ended up passing out.

Marika grabbed hold of her elbow and steered her forward before stopping again. Kaiya heard the whooshing sound and felt the wind of a blanket being shaken out and spread across the ground, giving the sisters a nice place to relax and eat lunch from the bento boxes Marika had prepared. They were smaller than one that a student would take to school; each of their boxes had nine rolls of sushi inside - or so Marika told her. It had been quite some time since she had been able to have homemade sushi, and she was determined to enjoy it.

It wasn't entirely normal of her, however. She didn't like to eat at the standard times others would, and she had a strong preference for sweets over any other kind of food. She was surprised she managed to stay as tiny as she was: skinny and with minimal curves at only five feet tall without shoes. Her mother used to tell her it was because she had high metabolism; that did make sense, after all.

Marika didn't bother to try and make conversation as they were eating. Just as she felt with train or car rides, Kaiya didn't believe in talking during meals. She liked to focus on her food, eat silently, and then talk about whatever was deemed necessary afterwards. The only times she made a legitimate exception to that rule were when whoever she was eating with - almost always her sister - had a topic that genuinely could not wait until later to be discussed.

"I enjoy cheese," Marika said. "I made a cheese sandwich."

It was too soon to be sure, apparently. She didn't even know they had _brought_ cheese. She had just been calmly eating her sushi, which was particularly delicious, and then this? 'And here I thought she had finally understood my need for silence while eating,' Kaiya thought. 'I guess she was just biding her time.' Stupid cheese. "Hm," Kaiya responded, trying not to encourage the conversation further.

"It's pretty here," Marika tried to stimulate conversation again.

Kaiya pushed another sushi roll into her mouth with her chopsticks. "Hm," she said, again trying to stifle it. Had Marika really forgotten her lifestyle preferences? Talk in the train, talk while eating, bring her to a park with a lake. 'I mean, really,' she thought, chewing on her sushi. 'I'd felt so much hope when I got to go to bed on my own last night.'

Her older sister made a noise that sounded like a yawn. "I didn't get much sleep last night," she said. Yes, it would seem it had, in fact, been a yawn.

"I'm sorry," Kaiya responded after swallowing. It seemed Marika would not be deterred by short, meaningless noises of dismissal.

The brunette let out a laugh. "Nothing to be sorry for," Marika said. "Maybe the water will wake me up."

Kaiya abruptly stopped chewing. It was beginning to get beyond ridiculous. Normally her sister seemed to have obsessive-compulsive-disorder when it involved keeping Kaiya comfortable. Commenting on the water? Marika knew she hated water. Ever since the situation at the beach three years ago, she had been very careful not to talk about solid bodies of water.

After Kaiya's physical therapy sessions had been shortened thanks to her one-year-anniversary of going blind, she had come to the realization that there were a lot of things she could do for herself that her sister was still doing for her. For example, changing her clothes. Her arms worked perfectly fine; she knew her way around her own room; she wasn't an invalid. On a different note, however, it was also around that time when Marika began to plan weekend trips for the two of them every now and then, probably in some misguided effort at reintroducing her to the world.

Their second trip was to a nearby beach.

Kaiya hadn't seen anything wrong with the plan at the time. Before she went blind, she had loved going to the beach. She preferred not to get in the water, but occasionally getting in and splashing around with her sister was normal. Generally, she preferred to sit in a chair, under an umbrella, and just enjoy the sounds of the waves crashing, the crisp sand under her toes, and the salty air rushing around her. But she hadn't been to the beach since she had gone blind, nor had she been in a large body of water.

Things were generally normal at first. Marika got in the water and Kaiya sat on a beach chair, still able to enjoy the activities she used to when on that very beach. It was almost even more enjoyable. Each sensation she felt from the sand or wind, and every smell her nose picked up on from the ocean, seemed to be sharper than it had any other time she had visited the beach. Her day was actually going smoothly, and she gladly accepted when her sister asked her to go into the water with her.

It was fine at first. She was only ankle deep in the ocean, and Marika had a strong hold on her arm; no doubt she thought Kaiya would fall and drown if she were to let go. But the situation gradually got worse from there. The sounds of the beach she felt such an affinity towards were muffled, almost as though someone had stuck cotton swabs all the way into her ears. Each wave that crashed increased the water around her legs until she noticed that she couldn't feel them anymore. She couldn't hear her sister talking to her, or feel the hand on her arm - if it was even there anymore.

Her legs gave way and she sunk down to her knees in the water.

The waves hadn't stopped and the water level was at her collarbone. Even her sense of smell had gone numb; there was no more salty tinge in the air, no more feeling the water on her body or sand under her feet, no more sounds of waves crashing and birds flying. She didn't even realize she was hyperventilating until she was roughly pulled back to her feet and away from the water. Ever since then, she had avoided getting any part of herself in large bodies of water, but even that couldn't protect her from the nightmares.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when her sister exclaimed, her mouth full of sushi, "Kaiya, wook ah ad ugh!"

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**Panda: Dreams. Lemons. Flashbacks. All good things.**

**Armadilllo: Yes, it was almost like hearing ourselves have a conversation. I **_**love**_** Stonewall Jackson.**

**Panda: I know you do. Did you know that, if I could have any wild animal for a pet, it would be a panda?**

**Armadilllo: You tell me at least 12 times a day.**

**Panda: Alas, you also tell me how much you like lemons on a frequent basis. Lemons. Pandas. It's all chill. Casual. Classic.**

**Armadilllo: The three C's. And no, I am not a hippie.**

**Panda: Oh really?**

**Armadilllo: No matter what John Smith says.**

**Panda: You're cute. And if we're going there, diction is a great word.**

**Armadilllo: Of course. It's in the dictionary, isn't it?**

**Panda: I'm sure it is. Unfortunately, we are going to have to have a valediction with our readers now-ish. So here, Armadilllo is going to give you the preview since my internet is stupid.**

**Armadilllo: And here it is:**

**Duck stalking; wander; attack; Aiko**

**Well, until next time, drear ones. (LOL, inside joke with myself) Classic.**

**Panda: I don't get it. But it's chill. I'm too high off life to care.**

**C. E. Taylor & G. E. Hemmy**


	5. Danger Duck

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**Danger Duck**

**A/N:**

**Panda: So, it is Spring Break. And Armadilllo and I have been (sadly) separated. For a whole week. So this authors' note... well, I'm hoping she will show up via internet and throw in her two cents before the end of the day, or I will have to do the whole thing myself. And that isn't fun.**

**But I would like to thank our reviewers! Everytime I read a review, it makes me smile and want to write more, and I can safely assume that they make Armadilllo happy as well, so thanks you guys! It really means a lot. **

**Armadilllo: Yes, they do bring joy to my soul. This was one of my favorite chapters to write. Because ducks. They are a thing in real life.**

**Panda: But you say that about every chapter.**

**Armadilllo: That is because it is true for every chapter :)**

**Panda: Well, I suppose it is a good thing that you enjoy every chapter you write. I miss you. It's only been two days. I feel so lonely. I tried to talk to Michael on steam. And I like that I am using this A/N to be social with you.**

**Armadilllo: Lol, I miss you too. And I hope you are as entertained as usual watching my typos as I write this. Also, Michael is a ho.**

**Panda: Oh, trust me, I am. And yes. He is a ho. I played lots of League yesterday. With Brian and Ben's sister, apparently. It was funny. Ben was there and I was like "wait I know Ben. Hi Ben!" It was cool.**

**Armadilllo: Haha, that's nice. I watched some Yu Yu Hakusho with my family last night and we almost watched the entire first arc. And its totally relevant too. Btw, we don't own any of the characters from that show, just our own. [snuck in the disclaimer ;)]**

**Panda: I'm obsessed with grammar. But yes. Like a ninja. Oh gosh. I had something important to say. But I can't remember what it was. Huh. Well, I have a gangster hat. But yeah. That's all I have to say for now.**

**Armadilllo: Me too. So without further ado, here is chapter five: Danger Duck.**

* * *

"Kaiya, look at that duck!" Marika exclaimed through a mouth full of sushi.

The duck, like a phantom, had scared all the other ducks away from the lake. It was huge, with black feet and an ugly face. She had never seen a duck like it before, but it gave her a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Or maybe the sushi had gone bad. Unlikely, but possible. It stared at them as if hypnotized, and the sight of it was enchanting.

"I don't speak sushi," Kaiya responded.

Marika rolled her eyes and swallowed. "I said, look at that duck!"

"Right," she said. "And you do realize I can't see, don't you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Oh, right," Marika said. "It's a big, fat duck. He looks like a demon. Like a demon duck!"

"What on earth is a demon duck supposed to look like?" her sister asked, clearly disbelieving.

"Its face looks like putty. It has some mushy, red stuff up by its eyes, iridescent green feathers that stick out from his body, and ugly, black feet." The duck moved closer to the two girls. "Ugh, and its beak is painted like an African voodoo mask. It's as big as a goose."

"That's strange," Kaiya commented. "I don't think I've ever heard of a duck like that. What's it doing?"

"It's just standing there," Marika said, confused, "staring at us."

"Just ignore it," Kaiya suggested with a shrug. "It probably just wants food. I'm sure it will go away when it realizes we won't give it anything."

"Oh, no! It's leaving!" Marika exclaimed, not hearing the end of her sister's comment. "We have to follow it, Kaiya!"

It sounded like an adventure, following the duck. Maybe it would have a nest and there would be little baby demon ducks. That would be cute. She didn't know exactly why she wanted to follow it, but something in her screamed that she had to.

"Absolutely not," she replied. "It seems creepy and makes me feel uncomfortable. I am perfectly content right here. I haven't even finished my sushi yet."

Marika watched the duck waddle away longingly. There was something about this duck. She was sure that if she didn't follow it right at that exact moment, she would regret it for the rest of her life. But she could not leave her blind sister alone. "But Kaiya," she whined, for once seeming the younger sibling.

"No," Kaiya reiterated. "It's just a duck. What, do you expect us to leave our food here to go on some... wild duck chase?"

"Yes, yes that is exactly what I am saying!" Marika put her food on the ground and stood up. "If we don't go right now, we may miss out on discovering some unknown breed of duck. What if it is a mutant?"

She took her sister's food out of her hands and pulled Kaiya to her feet, dragging her in the direction of the duck.

"This is really unnecessary," Kaiya muttered, though she didn't attempt to resist her sister's physical force.

"But oh so fun," Marika smiled at her sister. When they caught up to the duck, it turned around and looked at them briefly before quacking and continuing off into the wooded part of the park that surrounded the lake. Marika pulled along her sister, giggling and feeling generally happy. She hoped that some kind of adventure would improve her sister's spirits.

The duck would stop every so often and turn to look back at them, as if they were part of a herd of baby ducks that was moving too slowly for the mother duck's preference. As soon as they walked into the woods, Marika got a bad feeling, just like she had with the rain. But this time, it was much stronger. The duck continued walking, but it no longer looked back, as though sure that they would still be there. A shiver went down Marika's spine.

"Are we still in the park?" Kaiya asked, confused.

Marika looked behind them. They had just set foot in the woods, but from here it seemed as though the lake was just a haze on the horizon. "The lake is right behind us," she said, trying to sound confident.

They had slowed down considerably while they were talking and the duck was now very far in front of them. The forest stretched out in front of them, completely swallowing up the view of the lake behind them. It was almost as if the earth's curvature hid everything but the ground beneath their feet, like a trick mirror. Soon, the duck was out of sight as well, though Marika could still hear it up ahead.

She also hear laughter coming from somewhere. The voice she heard was thin and spindly, like it had been woven from the fabric of a dream. But it was not fragile. In the darkness of the forest that surrounded them, the voice seemed strong, as if it could make all the things that were bothering them go away. Then it changed, to a deeper, more sinister tone, as if it were mocking Marika and her sister.

"Nee-chan, I want to go back," Kaiya whispered, her voice higher-pitched than normal. "It doesn't feel right. Can we just go now?"

Marika shared her sister's fear. She felt as if she had had a dream like this once, where the forest had swallowed them up. Coincidentally, that was also the dream where the alien and his fox had appeared. The duck didn't seem as important as it had just minutes ago. "Yes, yes, let's turn back."

They turned around and walked in the direction that they had come from. The curve of the forest hid the path from Marika, but she tried to guide her sister the best that she could. Minutes passed, until it seemed that they had been walking back toward the lake for a much longer time than they had to get here. And worse, after a half hour of trying to leave the forest, Marika could still hear the duck.

"That damn duck," Marika muttered.

"Let's follow the duck," Kaiya mocked, "because that will be such a great idea." Sarcasm seeped through her voice, her fear seeming to dissipate into another, harsher emotion.

"Hey, if you had such a problem with it, you should have said something earlier," Marika said defensively.

"I did," her sister responded. "Remember? When I said it was just a duck and we should eat our food? Now all of that sushi is going to go bad."

"It's not as if you eat your food anyway," Marika said viciously. "Who has to force you to eat dinner every night? Let's think about this one, oh, wait, it's ME!"

Kaiya took that moment to rip her arm out of her older sister's grip, a rather common occurrence as of late, and plopped down on the ground. "It was good sushi," she insisted. "And it was more important than a stupid duck. Now we are lost, because you wanted to make some scientific finding. I mean, seriously. Not. Necessary. You don't even like science."

Marika sighed dramatically. "That is exactly why I should be the one to make a scientific discovery. To show all those science losers that they have been wasting their lives. Just like Michael Ventris, the architect who deciphered Linear B. It's like a huge insult to the scientific world. It would have been so great!"

"Well your mislead aspirations are clearly not meant to succeed," Kaiya responded monotonously.

"I'll be sure to write that on my inspirational calendar when we get out of here," Marika said seriously.

"Ouch," her sister replied, "that hurt."

"What?" Marika said, honestly confused. "I meant it. It sounds like it would come out of a fortune cookie."

"Right," Kaiya began, drawing out the 'i' sound. "You do understand that I was insulting you, don't you? It wasn't meant to be inspirational."

"Oh," Marika said, "It all makes sense now. Ouch sis, is this payback for the time I accidentally used your toothbrush?"

"You did what?" she demanded.

A sudden shiver went down Marika's spine that had nothing to do with her sister's reaction. "Haha, I was just kidding," she lied. "Now, hush, I think I hear something."

Actually, it was the opposite. The duck had stopped quacking. The eerie silence had caught her attention. The duck couldn't just disappear, could it? Marika didn't think ducks did that. Unless they were magic ducks. But something could have eaten it, and Marika didn't really want to stick around for whatever was making a duck stew out of their wayward friend.

Marika pulled her sister to her feet in case they needed to run away. Not that there was really anywhere for them to go. It seemed almost like the forest ran away from them in a loop. They could have been going in circles the whole time and not even have known it.

But what came at them out of the underbrush was much worse than the creature that Marika had anticipated. It was the duck. The same one that had led them here into this horrible place, Marika was almost sure of it. It had the same markings on its beak and the same ugly, mushy face. The only difference (and it was a large one) was the duck's size. If before it had been the same size as a fat house-cat, now it was as large as the pictures that they showed in school of T-Rex.

Marika pulled her sister to her side, her body trembling with fear. This was how she would die? Not to really horrifying but cool ninja assassins, but to a duck? It really made you stop and think about your life. Or it would have, if Marika had not been so busy freaking out. The only thing she managed to keep under control was her voice. The rest of her body betrayed her, shaking and shivering down to her core. "Kaiya, we need to run."

"Why are you freaking out so much?" she asked. "I know it feels weird, but it isn't any different than when we were around that stupid duck earlier."

"It sure looks different," Marika said as she caught sight of some sharp canines lining the inside of its beak. "For one thing, ducks aren't carnivorous."

"Oh? I never would have guessed," Kaiya replied as they began to run. "What's it doing, eating a cow?"

"Not many cows around," Marika said gravely, "but if there were any, I am sure that they would also be trying to eat us."

"Great," her sister commented. "So not only are we lost, but you've also managed to get us stuck in some creepy forest full of carnivorous animals that aren't supposed to be carnivorous?"

"Science strikes again," Marika said jokingly. "I am sure we stumbled onto some laboratory project by mistake."

"I thought stuff like that only happened in America," Kaiya responded. "Like aliens in Area 51. You've heard of that, right?"

Marika laughed nervously, "Aliens don't exist, Kaiya. What have they been teaching you in school?"

"That ducks are herbivores," she explained dryly.

"Well, good to know that our parents' money is going to good use," Marika said. They were getting nowhere. The duck was still as close as it had ever been.

Out of the forest came a flash of energy that was shaped... like a fox. It materialized into the form of a girl just behind them. But it wasn't just any girl. Marika stopped just to stare, pulling her sister to a stop next to her. This girl had ears on her head and a fluffy tail sticking out behind her. It was the girl from Marika's dream. But that was not the strange part.

She had short brown hair with bangs falling into a line across her forehead. It was a very mod fashion of the type you might see when visiting Tokyo. She wore a pink shirt and a short, flared skirt with knee high socks and cute little pink shoes. Who could possibly wear that much pink and not throw up?

The killer-duck quickly caught up to them now that they had stopped, but the fox-girl looked unworried. Without missing a beat, she took a pink coil of rope from her belt and waved it back and forth in the air as though waving a magic wand. Unfortunately, the attack looked more like the girl was trying to ribbon dance. The "whip" fell to the ground after doing no damage.

"Not again," she whined. "I'll never get to Yoko-kun's level at this rate! If only he would agree to tutor me."

With that, she turned and began to run away, leaving Marika staring after her. Luckily, before the demon-duck could get much further, it spontaneously began to gush massive amounts of blood from wounds that had not been there mere seconds before. Kaiya put her hands over her nose at the smell of so much blood. Marika closed her eyes, wiping a bit of the offending liquid out of her eyes robotically. She felt as if she had already gone through this. It was like some nightmare come true.

The fox's ears pricked up at the sound of the beast's wail and stopped running. "Well, what do you know? I did it! Yoko-kun would be so impressed!"

"Fool," a clearly masculine, though not all that deep, voice contributed. "Your little rope didn't do anything. Did you really think I'd let you deal with this breach by yourself?"

Marika held her breath when she saw the newcomer. He was short, below five feet if she had to guess, but he the way he carried himself, he might as well have been the tallest one there. He had spiky black hair and ruthless, fiery red eyes. Two of them. His clothes consisted of a long black shirt with a white scarf and black pants underneath. In his hand he held a blood-spattered sword, which he lifted to his mouth and licked clean as Marika stood watching. This was unsurprising to Marika. After all, she had seen it all before. This was the alien, though she couldn't see his third eye. She guessed that he was covering it up with the white bandana. The fox Barbie-doll seemed to shrink back as soon as he began speaking, her ears flattening against her hair.

"Of course not, Hiei-san," the fox-girl replied with a nervous chuckle. "But look! I got them away from the demon! So will you introduce me to Yoko-kun yet?" she begged, latching onto the man's arm. He shook the girl off and glared at her.

"No," he asserted. "And it would be an intelligent idea for you to stop following me."

"But Hiei-san!" she exclaimed, falling to her knees. "I know you are friends with Yoko-kun! Please, I'll prove myself in whatever way I can if you'll just introduce me to him!" She appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"No," the short man repeated. After a pause, he continued. "If you are really going to continue your futile effort in stalking me, at least make yourself useful and grab one of those two."

* * *

**Panda: HIEI. I love him.**

**Armadilllo: Useless Aiko is useless. **

**Panda: Always. But Hiei is there, so it is all okay. The next chapter is fun. Because HIEI. This chapter was cool too. Because HIEI. I think you get my point.**

**Armadilllo: I get sad because Kurama is not here for, hmm, I can't remember how long. But he is there in spirit. Oh, wait, no, he is totally in chapter seven. I remember now.**

**Panda: Right. Good job. And let's point out the sad, SAD, lack of Hiei for a very, very long time. It's sad. And OMG. The story is temporarily bereft of Hiei! BEREFT. Am I delirious? Possibly.**

**Armadilllo: It was a bereft day, a day bereft of Hiei. I should become a poetry major ;)**

**Panda: That doesn't exist.**

**Armadilllo: Haha, then can I be a science major?**

**Panda: You don't even like science! (LOL, see what I did there?)**

**Armadilllo: Yes ;)**

**Panda: I'm gonna do the preview now. Why are you stalking meeeee? Anyway, I'm gonna go get it. I'll be right back.**

**Preview for Acquaintances Gained, Memories Lost:**

**Aiko; Hiei; memory discussion; food; contemplation**

**I know, it's a riveting description.**

**Armadilllo: But WHAT does it mean? WHO IS YABAN HITO?**

**Panda: TELL ME, KENT WILLIAMS! (As usual, we will update on Saturday. In case you didn't know.)**

**Love, **

**C. E. Taylor & G.E Hemmy**


	6. Acquaintances Gained, Memories Lost

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**Acquaintances Gained, Memories Lost**

**A/N:**

**Panda: I love this chapter. So very much. Because Hiei is so very in this chapter. And if you squint, it's the beginning of some Hiei/Kaiya. IT IS. If you squint. A lot. Any Hiei fans like myself out there, enjoy this chapter. Other than maybe two chapters soon, there's a big chunk of lack-of-Hiei. But it's okay. He comes back eventually. I'm still at home on spring break. So I will wait patiently for Armadilllo to comment.**

**Armadilllo: Lol, sorry. Home improvement.**

**Panda: I'm playing League of Legends. So this is going to be erratic commentary. Good times.**

**Armadilllo: Man, I wish I could play. But I'm living in a bomb shelter, so it's kinda difficult. Yeah, I like this chapter. It gives a very different perspective on the sister's relationship than the one given by Marika. Which is legit. Because Marika is not the most reliable narrator. Anyway, I'll fit in a disclaimer while I'm chillin here. We don't own any of the characters except Marika and Kaiya, and Aiko and Kouki and some others. And the plot. That's ours. So yeah. Don't steal it. I'm going to baseball practice now, so peace y'all.**

**Panda: Wow, I missed a lot during that game of League. Well, then. Yeah. Perspective. It's a good thing. I think that's one of the great things about this story. You DO get to "see" almost everything from multiple perspectives. Which is fun. But anyway, I'll not bore you, and now you can read chapter six. It's a cool chapter.**

* * *

It took Kaiya a moment to understand exactly what was going on. She still thought her sister was crazy but, in accordance with the benefit of the doubt, she made the decision to refrain from arguing while her sister was as panicked as her body indicated she was. They were running from what Marika said was a giant, carnivorous duck, but the brunette abruptly came to a stop and pulled Kaiya right beside her.

One moment they were running for their lives, and the next- 'Oh,' she interrupted her own thoughts. There was someone else there. She heard the air swishing as though this person had a whip or something of the sort and was slicing it through the air. Marika's grip on Kaiya's arm did not loosen, and a light dropping sound was the next event her senses picked up on.

"Not again," a high-pitched, female voice whined. "I'll never get to Yoko-kun's level at this rate! If only he would agree to tutor me," she finished with a sigh. Kaiya blinked her sightless eyes a few times. The day continued to grow more and more strange, and she felt a small tingle of guilt in her gut for calling her sister crazy all those times in the past.

She was broken out of her thoughts again by another presence relatively near to them. Before she could analyze the situation further, a strong, metallic scent drifted up her nose as she heard what she assumed was her sister's carnivorous duck squealing. She quickly covered her nose with her free hand; even though she wasn't squeamish, something about the smell of that blood was significantly more foul than anything she had smelled before.

"Well what do you know?" the female voice from earlier asked. "I did it! Yoko-kun would be so proud!"

"Fool. Your little rope didn't do anything," a new voice, this time masculine, said. He must have been the other person she felt was there. "Did you really think I'd let you deal with this breach by yourself?"

Kaiya's mind started running as it did when she was presented with information that could help her answer a question. The girl had a rope. The rope didn't do anything. The man seemed to be responsible for the useless, rope girl. The man was probably who brutally slaughtered the duck-thing. She supposed she should be thankful. But where were they? What kind of breach had happened? Was it really some military site like she and her sister had joked about?

"Of course not, Hiei-san," the female replied, chuckling nervously. Hiei - the man's name was Hiei. "But look! I got them away from the demon! So will you introduce me to Yoko-kun yet?" The female voice had moved closer to where Hiei's voice had come from. Kaiya's mind continued to place the pieces together. Demon, the female had said. So the duck was actually a demon?

'I guess I really do have some apologizing to do,' she thought. The two didn't seem dangerous. If the goal of their excursion was to protect her and her sister from a carnivorous demon duck, then they had to be allies in some way or another.

"No," Hiei said. "And it would be an intelligent idea for you to stop following me." His voice was sharp, but not cruel.

"But Hiei-san!" Kaiya heard a thump as the female paused. "I know you are friends with Yoko-kun! Please, I'll prove myself in whatever way I can if you'll just introduce me to him!" This woman was clearly very obsessed with 'Yoko-kun.' Was he some kind of celebrity? She had certainly never heard of him.

"No," Hiei asserted again. He paused for a moment. "If you are really going to continue your futile effort in stalking me, at least make yourself useful and grab one of those two."

Kaiya's eyes widened as she heard a thump and felt her sister's grip fall off of her arm. She was surprised when she felt something hard hit the back of her head; were the people she had just assumed to be allies attacking them now, too?

"Idiot," Hiei said. "Here, take her." Kaiya stood completely still, afraid of what would happen to her if she moved, as she heard slight rustling. Before she could consider what was happening to her and her sister, she felt another thump on the back of her head, and she fell backwards into strong arms before she completely passed out.

* * *

She had felt a presence similar to this before. It took her a moment to remember before the answer crashed into her like a hydroplaning truck. The day she went blind. It wasn't exactly the same, but there were small tinges of similarities; it was like having a curry dish made at a restaurant and then having one made by her mother. There was the same, base taste of the curry spices, but the rest of the flavor was entirely unique.

The differences, however, were a bit more drastic than those between two different dishes of curry. They were more like the differences between two poems that were written by poets that had drastically different styles and subject matter.

The _thing_ she had seen flying outside the bathroom window was like a poem about a malicious prankster. Perhaps the character could be seen as being similar to Puck in William Shakespeare's _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. If there was a taste for that energy, it would probably be that of a lime. It wasn't as sour as a lemon, nor as bright, but it still held a unique, citrusy tang.

The feeling she felt at that moment, however, lying on some cold, hard surface, was drastically different. The poem that it could portray was a mass of contradictions. It was hot, like a bright flame consuming everything around it, but it was also cold, as though even those enveloping flames couldn't melt away the ice stuck on the inside.

But that wasn't all.

She had trouble pinpointing exactly what the emotion was that was emanating from whoever it was that she felt so strongly. It wasn't quite sadness, nor was it pure anger. In fact, it wasn't even necessarily unhappiness. There was a mix of so many feelings fighting with each other, both positive and negative. The battle she felt going on reminded her slightly of her own. There was an underlying yearning for somewhere to belong that pulled up the emotions she felt when contemplating her lack of individuality.

'You aren't supposed to be awake,' a slightly familiar male voice echoed inside her mind. Somehow, it didn't surprise her that another voice was taking up residence in her mind. Maybe she had grown some sort of conscience. Or maybe insanity was hereditary and it finally had taken its hold over her.

That reminded her, however, that she and her sister had been chased by some demon duck. And then there was a girl with a rope. And a guy named Hiei.

'Where am I?' she asked, considering the possibility of this voice being its own intelligent being other than a figment of her mind. And right she was; even though the voice hadn't responded yet, she could feel it hesitate. At the same time, it felt like a feather was floating around the inside of her mind, tickling random spots every now and then.

'Demon World,' the voice responded as if coming to a solid conclusion about something.

'Okay,' she began. 'And are you planning on killing me?' she asked perfectly calmly. She wasn't afraid of dying, but if it was going to be painful, she supposed she wanted to at least be able to prepare herself first.

'No.'

The feeling in her mind changed. There was a slight breeze in place of the feather, and some spots began to feel warm like her throat and stomach after having a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Well, at least it was nice to know that this man didn't plan on killing her. Maybe him and that female were allies after all.

'Are you Hiei?' she asked in an effort to confirm her suspicions.

'Hn.'

That was as much confirmation as she needed. So she was in some "demon world." She and Marika had been attacked by a demon duck. A female and this - apparently telepathic - male, Hiei, sliced said duck to pieces. But where was she? She spread out her left hand to feel the surface she was lying on top of. It was cold, just as she had observed earlier. It was smooth. Probably metal, or something similar. So she was on a metal table. Metal tables reminded her of surgical tables. Was he going to experiment on her? Mutate her body to the point of death, but not so much that she would actually die? Or was he planning on something else entirely?

'I already told you, woman, I am not going to kill you,' the voice belonging to Hiei's mind explained. 'Nor do I plan on torturing you. You could make this easier on both of us and just go back to sleep.' The warm, hot-chocolatey feeling had left her mind and was replaced by the feeling of having cold water tossed in her face early in the morning. She shivered; apparently it had an effect on the rest of her body as well.

It was then that she remembered something very important: her sister.

'Hiei-san, is my sister okay?' Kaiya asked. She had almost forgotten that all of their exchange had been within her mind at that point.

'She is fine,' he replied. 'And don't call me that.'

'Why not?' she asked. If she wasn't supposed to address him with an honorific, what was she supposed to call him?

'Don't call me anything,' he answered. The feeling of the cold water was spreading, but the spots it left untouched felt warmer than before. It wasn't until that moment when she realized that not only could he hear the thoughts she directly addressed at him, he could also hear each and every thought floating through her mind.

She attempted to focus on clearing her mind. Even though she was relatively certain that he was not going to kill her, that didn't mean she trusted him enough to allow him to see all of her most personal thoughts. She just had to stop thinking. She could meditate. That could work. Clearing your mind when you meditate - that's a thing. So she would take deep breaths - in, and out - and not think.

Her thoughts that she was trying not to have were interrupted when she felt something relatively thin, but still somewhat warm - probably a blanket - draped over her body. That was interesting.

'Sleep,' Hiei told her. His voice wasn't comforting, nor was it harsh. Kaiya made the assumption that he had covered her with this blanket. Maybe he didn't want to know what she was thinking either.

The feeling of cold water got even colder than before.

She and Hiei seemed to have similar intentions. He wanted her to fall asleep so that her mind would stop racing, and she wanted to go to sleep so that he wouldn't learn more about her than she felt comfortable with him knowing - after all, she didn't know anything about him except that his energy caused her to make associations between curry and poetry.

She decided to visualize something peaceful; she had read once that making a relaxing image in your mind is supposed to help you fall asleep. Honestly, the real problem was that she wasn't tired. After all, she had just been knocked out, sleeping, for who knows how long. But she was going to try.

She thought of one of her favorite paintings she had done about four and a half years ago - one of her last paintings. It was hung downstairs in her home on the living room wall, and it was one of her more fantasy-like works. She had been inspired by a forest; even before she had gone blind, she still felt soothed outside, especially around trees. She had been feeling particularly creative, however, when she translated that relatively average-looking forest onto a canvas.

Rather than their natural brown, the tree trunks were white; they almost seemed to radiate a small light that illuminated the ground, giving the green grass a mystical glow. The structure of the trunks were the same as a normal tree, as were the leaves. In each bright tree, all of the bits that were usually green had been painted in a shade of purple similar to the color of purple rock-candy. The texture of said leaves was a bit different as well; they could be seen, in the shape of leaves, to be more like crystals than the flimsy texture of a leaf.

Unfortunately, she still was not asleep. Apparently imagining her painting was not soothing enough, and now Hiei had even more insight to her inner thoughts that she didn't want him to have.

'Can't you just knock me out again?' she asked. 'That's what you did before, right?'

'As ideal as that would be, you are already bruised and I am in the middle of getting something done,' he explained irritably.

Kaiya didn't respond. She did recall the female hitting her head with nothing happening, so maybe that had caused an unnecessary problem. And she supposed that it made sense that he didn't want to interrupt his work, whatever it was, to try and knock her out again without further damaging her head. It would seem that stopping and restarting was more obnoxious than her excessive thoughts.

The cold feeling in her mind got smaller and smaller; it concentrated itself into a few spots and managed to get even colder. Where before it was icy water, it had then changed to solid ice stuck in those spots, freezing them. Then those frozen spots got warmer and warmer, and the ice melted. The same small spots then got even hotter until it felt as though they would cause her mind to spontaneously combust, but then everything went blank.

Kaiya had a moment of raw confusion. 'Where am I?' she asked herself, trying to take in her surroundings. She was lying down on some surface; it was cold and flat - probably metal. Was she in a hospital?

'You're dreaming,' a male voice inside her mind explained. Her body began to feel fuzzy, like thousands of feathers were falling all over her skin.

'I am?' she asked again. The fuzzy feeling intensified to the point that she could barely even feel her body anymore. It must be true, then. After all, people generally couldn't actually feel things in dreams - at least not really.

'Today is Sunday. You left your house this morning with your sister to go to a park. There was a lake in the middle of the park, and your sister convinced you to get in. You had a panic attack and passed out. Now you're dreaming, on the train ride home,' the voice explained. Kaiya felt no need to argue with him. Even if the explanation didn't seem entirely logical, every fiber of her mind was telling her to just agree and sink further into sleep.

'Who are you?' she asked. Her own voice in her mind seemed quieter than before as she slipped further and further into unconsciousness.

'Nothing more than a figment of your imagination.'

* * *

"How do you like that?"

Kaiya woke up on the train to her sister mumbling in her sleep. She tried to remember how she got there; she certainly didn't remember getting on the train. And she was hungry.

"That's right! You don't like it much do you?" her sister continued after a pause. Kaiya blinked her sightless eyes twice. What on earth had her sister been dreaming about? She realized it had been a long time since Marika had gone on a date, but she didn't think her hormones would act up so much that she would start _saying_ what she said in her dreams.

"Can you stop?" she asked in an effort to wake her sister before she made a fool of herself in front of the passengers on the train; she already felt like people were probably staring at them. That last part hadn't been particularly quiet. "You're being weird again. Just wake up already."

She felt her sister slowly shift beside her. It was interesting; Marika never fell asleep on train rides, but it seemed she had finally managed to change that habit. It was a rare feat, and Kaiya didn't anticipate forgetting it for a while.

"Where are we?" Marika asked. It seemed her attempt to rouse her sister had been effective, but it also seemed her memory suffered in return.

"I'm going to go ahead and make the assumption that, considering the kind of movement I am feeling, we are on the same train we were on before you fell asleep," Kaiya responded, clearly mocking her older sister. Of all the things to forget, why forget boarding a train?

_You had a panic attack and passed out_. It was in her memory. She could recall exactly what happened. They woke up in the morning, got on the train, went to the park, and Marika was stupid enough to put Kaiya in the water. As would be expected, Kaiya had a panic attack. Her sister probably carried her onto the train for them to go home.

"I didn't fall asleep!" Marika exclaimed.

"Right," Kaiya remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "And that is why you were muttering some nonsense about liking something. In your sleep. Because you certainly sounded asleep to me. Though I am blind, so I guess I could be wrong."

"Well, I was sleeping," the brunette commented, pausing as though searching for her explanation. "But it was because of that three-eyed alien! He knocked me out after we followed the demon duck into the circular forest!"

This wasn't the first time Marika had told her something strange, but it _was_ the first time that _she_ was also involved in the delusion. She was honestly a bit concerned, but she thought it might have just been a dream so she decided, as per usual, to make fun of her sister's sanity instead.

"Wow," she began. "I always knew you were crazy, but you're taking it to a whole new level. Were you talking about liking ducks in your dream, or about this three-eyed guy? I didn't know you were into that sort of thing." It could be a plausible assumption. After all, her sister was dreaming, mentioned someone liking something, and then woke up and started spewing about ducks and aliens. It could definitely all be related.

"I'm am, I mean, no, that came out wrong." Marika was stuttering. Marika never stuttered - at least not while Kaiya was around. "I know you couldn't see them, but surely you remember the blood?"

That was when Kaiya started to get more alarmed. Had something actually happened? Maybe it had happened while she was passed out after her panic attack. No, then Marika wouldn't expect her to remember it. "What blood?" she asked for clarification. "Nee-chan, we have been on this train the whole time except for when we were at the park. I'm pretty sure I'd remember if something was bleeding, or whatever you're talking about." Kaiya deemed it wise to continue with her sex-dream joke. "Really, this dream of yours is getting creepy. You're into blood and stuff too?"

"I wasn't dreaming about sex!" Marika yelled. Kaiya sunk down a bit in her seat; if people weren't staring when she was mumbling in her sleep, they certainly would be staring now. Perhaps the sex-dream joke shouldn't have been brought up again. "We followed a duck into the forest by the lake and it turned huge and tried to eat us, and then that alien guy cut it into a thousand pieces. There was blood everywhere. I am not making this up. It wasn't a dream!" she continued, though much quieter.

There had never been a time when Marika seemed as convinced that something actually happened that Kaiya was relatively certain didn't before. Maybe she really believed it did; maybe it was a lucid dream. Or, actually, probably just a vivid one. Or maybe someone had hypnotized Marika while Kaiya was knocked out. She didn't consider the possibility that it actually had happened. 'After all,' she thought, 'demons and aliens aren't real.'

"Are you okay?" she asked her older sister, her tone changing from sarcastic to concerned. "Look, I get that you really think this happened, but don't you think I would remember it? I know I don't believe you when you say weird stuff about monsters and shadow-creatures or whatever, but if I experienced it like you think I did, there's no way I would just forget."

'Right?' she thought. 'Right. I am relatively certain I would have noticed a profusely bleeding giant duck, and I don't think that is something easily forgettable.' Marika had gotten quiet. Kaiya picked up a strand of her own black hair off of her shoulder and twisted it around in an attempt to take up time. There was no way her sister was done talking about this yet.

Much to her surprise, the next thing she heard was loud laughter - loud laughter that was clearly forced. What, did Marika think she was stupid? She was blind, not five years old.

"Did you think I was being serious? Kaiya, you know me, I'll do anything for a joke."

What kind of bull was her sister trying to feed her? She was funny, yeah, but not in the way that she would make up ridiculous stories. No, the stories she told were always events she actually believed occurred. Marika was obviously lying, and Kaiya didn't plan on letting her get away with it. "Totally," she responded, unable to keep the bite out of her tone. "That's why you never understand my sarcasm. It all makes sense to me now."

"Hey, let's see what time it is? Maybe we can get some mochi on the way home."

'Point proven,' Kaiya thought. She was unconvinced of her sister's excuse. Granted, attempting to bribe her with mochi was intelligent. She did have a soft spot for sweets.

"Oh, good, it's only-"

Marika abruptly interrupted her own sentence. Kaiya wasn't sure this situation could get much stranger. "Only what?" she asked. If it was, say, Tuesday morning, than Kaiya would accept that something weird went on; she might even agree to fully hear her sister out about the duck and the alien.

"It's three in the afternoon," the brunette explained, pausing. "On Sunday."

_Today is Sunday. You left your house this morning. _"Okay, that sounds right," she responded, confused as to what her sister thought was strange about it. "We did leave this morning."

Marika stopped talking. Perhaps she finally understood that she wasn't making any sense. Kaiya could only hope. With their parents never home, her older sister was really the only friend she had anymore - which was part of the reason that she only verbally asserted herself instead of physically asserting herself - but there might be some conflict if she actually went totally crazy. What if they took her away to a mental hospital? As nice as it would be to have some time to herself where she could make her own decisions and behave like the eighteen-year-old she was, it would be lonely without anyone around.

So it wasn't like Kaiya wanted her sister to be crazy. She would love for her whole family to be sane. She would love to actually see her parents - or, well, not see but at least spend some time with them. She would love to make friends. She would love for both her and her sister to be able to return to the happy lives they used to have. But that wasn't going to happen. Even if they were both happy again, it wouldn't be the same - not necessarily bad, just different.

"What rhymes with Marika?" she heard her sister ask. She had somehow forgotten Marika's inability to occupy herself silently when riding or driving anywhere. Kaiya let out a small sigh.

"I don't know. Am I supposed to be a poet?" she asked, hoping to dissuade the conversation. She was still hungry, and all of her pondering over what might have happened that got her sister so confused had exhausted her.

"Eureka? Paprika? Zuzika?" her sister continued, ignoring Kaiya's attempt.

"That isn't even a word," she pointed out. "Why on earth are you trying to make something rhyme with your name?"

"I'm bored. I need something to keep me awake," Marika answered Kaiya didn't see the harm in sleeping; sleeping was always nice. "Hmm, what rhymes with Kaiya? Lieya? Crya? Spya? Haiya? Oh, that's funny. Haiya Kaiya."

She glared in the direction her sister's voice was coming from and Marika laughed. The train slowed to a stop and the two exited, Marika's hand always lightly on Kaiya's arm in an effort to guide her. There were some times when it was nice; after all, it wasn't like she knew the train quite as well as the walk to her house, or the inside of her house for that matter.

Kaiya didn't bring up the getting mochi idea. She just wanted a real meal and to go to sleep, which was a bit strange since she felt as though she had just been sleeping for quite a while. The walk home was silent, her sister leaving her to her thoughts. As valiant as Marika's effort was to avoid the story about the duck after seeing Kaiya's reaction, it didn't dissuade her belief that her sister really believed it had happened.

She wished her sister would just stop and think for a moment. It seemed as though Marika just blurted out her thoughts without even thinking through her words first. While Kaiya could understand doing something like that in the heat of the moment, Marika did it all the time. Didn't she understand what she sounded like? Who talks about demon chickens? And aliens? That stuff only happened in America, like the whole Area 51 thing.

The breeze blew some of her hair off of her shoulder, but as she pulled it back around to the front - it somehow made her feel more secure to have hair to hide her face with if need be - a part of it tugged at the base of her head. She winced; something on the back of her head hurt that she hadn't noticed before. She lifted her right hand and felt around, poking the spot a little; it was bruised. Maybe she had hit her head on a rock or something when she had her panic attack.

They finally arrived at their home and silently made their way to the kitchen; as usual, their parents weren't at home. Just as according to routine, Marika made some sort of dinner, though earlier than usual, and the two ate in silence. Kaiya was surprised. Even though she like to not talk when eating, Marika almost always had something to say. It only further confirmed her suspicions that her sister was lying about not really meaning her whole demon turkey and alien thing.

On the other hand, the brunette seemed very absorbed by her thoughts if her lack of speaking was any indication. Kaiya had a great idea then, and she stood from the floor where she was eating. Her sister made no response as she walked to the stairs and then to her room. It was surprising; she was so distracted that she had become unaware of Kaiya's behavior.

Opening one of the drawers inside her closet - bottom drawer, far left side, four large buttons - she pulled out what she knew to be her favorite pair of pajamas since her second year of junior high; her mother had given them to her for Christmas that year. They were light blue and were covered in penguins, one of Kaiya's favorite animals. She changed her clothes, chucking her dirty ones into the same corner she threw them each morning when her sister was dressing her.

She opened a drawer on her desk - top right, back left corner, round - and grabbed a hair-tie to pull her hair up into a messy bun. Had her sister even noticed her absence? She made her way back down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. "Goodnight," she said, if only to let Marika know she was gone because she was sleeping.

"Sweet dreams," Marika responded, apparently unaware that anything was strange about this evening. Kaiya turned and went back to her room, crawling in her bed to sleep and continue with routine the next day, and the day after that, until something in her life finally changed.

* * *

**Panda: Hiei. I love him. I enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter I wrote, on the other hand, took me forever even though I love it too. Oh, chapter eight. But you still have chapter seven before you get that one. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying your Hiei time. I'm sorry he is so sparse in all this. But there wasn't another way to make it make sense.**

**Armadilllo: Lol, Marika. So distracted. She's cool though. I miss these times.**

**Panda: I need to catch up. You are far out-doing me. Chapter fourteen is not adequate. You have well surpassed my writing speed. A lot. I blame the english language. I don't really, since it isn't ACTUALLY his fault. It's mine. I'll stop making excuses and actually continue writing. Eventually.**

**Armadilllo: Lol, the English language. So fitting. But yeah, I should stop writing so much.**

**Panda: No. Don't lose all momentum just because I have none!**

**Armadilllo: Well, I can't write after Chapter 22 anyway because we don't know exactly what's happening. It's where my outline ends.**

**Panda: True. We should figure that out when we get back to Tech. It seems like a smart idea.**

**Armadilllo: Yes, I agree. I miss being able to talk to you during these and read things out loud after I write them. A lot. But yeah, it's getting intense. REALLY REALLY INTENSE! I have nightmares about Marika's nightmares.**

**Panda: Oh my. Maybe I should go read it. But yeah, I miss it too. I need to cuddle with my Hiei plushie while I am partially distracted from the overly-distracting "English language" and try to write as much as I can today and tomorrow. Because I'm going to get back to school and be distracted again. And that simply will not do. No matter the relevance that diction has with the act of writing.**

**Armadilllo: Yes, it is quite ironic that "diction" is the reason you can't write. Because everything written contains diction. Lol, we must be confusing people. Perhaps you should give them a preview of Chapter 7: Dreams of Reality. Which is - not to contradict myself - my personal favorite chapter in this section.**

**Panda: I think you are actually telling the truth this time. Mind blown. Anyway.**

**PREVIEW:**

**Memory discussion; food; shoestore; home**

**So revealing. Is it bad that I barely even know what these mean anymore?**

**Armadilllo: Yeah, I do, but only if I think really hard about it. Plus, this **_**is**_** my favorite chapter, so I mostly remember. Just don't ask me to tell you what happens in any of the second arc chapters I've written. I have no earthly idea. But yeah, I gotta go paint stuff. Busy life, yo. :(**

**Panda: Well then. I'm going to cuddle with Hiei and try to write more. And, as usual, the next chapter will be up on Saturday. And yeah. Life. Darned life. So many issues in mine right now. Anyway see you next time!**

**C. E. Taylor & G. E. Hemmy**


	7. Dreams of Reality

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**Dreams of Reality**

**A/N:**

**Panda: Hi there. This update is later in the day. But it is still Saturday! Sorry about that. Life has been hectic, and my Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are all filled with way too much to do. Usually involving dancing. My body hates me. A lot.**

**Armadilllo: Yeah. Community service. And Capture the flag. Competition. is. bad. for. my. mental. health. **

**Panda: Yes. And I am in an awkward stage of life where I have the urge to post a question on social networking sites to get an opinion, but then I realize that people I don't want to know about the question are on ALL of my social networking sites. Bad move, self. Bad move.**

**Armadilllo: Well, at least you didn't ask it. Too tired. for life. so. many. periods. being. used. in. author's. note...**

**Panda: Oh my. That is quite a lot of periods. Yeah. I want to sleep. But I have to write a poem. I hate poetry. I like cats. Yeah. We don't own anything except our people and our plot. And spiders. Actually, spiders seem to own us. Apparently. Yeah.**

**Armadilllo: They own our souls. It's true. Triangle shaped babies shouldn't exist. But they do! I love this chapter. There is just enough Kurama for it to be okay :)**

**Panda: Yes, Kurama makes his return. And Hiei makes his exit. Sadly. Black teas. Do they have caffeine in them? The box won't tell me. It's making my life difficult. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. And have awesome lives.**

* * *

The last thing Marika saw was the three-eyed man's fist coming down on her head. Or she supposed that was what she might have seen, had her eyes been able to pick up motion that was that fast. Regardless, she had no time to think about it, because she was pulled into a dream.

The feeling was familiar, like being sucked backwards through a tube full of jelly. Of course, that particular thing had never happened to her, but if it had, she would know the sensation immediately. She couldn't tell where she was, but she was sure she had never been here before. It was like she had tunnel vision; her eyes could barely focus on anything except what was directly in front of her. It was a person, with long red hair and fierce green eyes.

Minamino Shuichi? Why was he everywhere she looked these days? Marika was starting to get tired of this. It was one thing for him to bother her at work. But this was her dream. HER DREAM! She had so few of them and now he was shouldering his way into one of them? This was not okay. Couldn't he just go find a gay lover and leave her alone? Marika had no desire to even be friends with him. The only reason that she had accepted a ride home from him was because he had seemed so adamant about it, almost to the point of being scary.

"I have only heard of one thing that would help cure blindness," Shuichi said.

Marika thought that she had perhaps not heard him correctly. There was a cure? She had always thought that there had to be something she could do for her sister, but she was so used to people telling her that she was wrong that his words shocked her.

"What? What is it?" Marika yelled at him. But Shuichi said nothing else.

He just stared at her, his face blank. Marika felt the frustration that she kept buried under the surface bubble up. Just like a witch's brew, she had reached her boiling point. "You say something like that and then just clam up?"

He continued to stare at her, saying nothing. "You bastard! Tell me what you know about this cure!" She wanted to slap that look off of his face, but couldn't move her arms and legs. Typical dream. "Fine! If dream you won't tell me anything, I can just beat it out of you in real life! How do you like that?"

Shuichi made no move to show that he had heard her. Marika laughed semi-hysterically. "That's right! You don't like it much, do you?"

"Can you stop? You're being weird again," she heard Kaiya say in response. "Just wake up already."

"Wha-" Marika heard her sister's voice but she wasn't sure if it was coming out of the dream or not. She hadn't noticed Kaiya anywhere in there, but maybe she just couldn't see her. She tried turning her head in the dream without success. Her field of vision remained the same, even though she could feel her head turning. Shuichi's dumb face just wouldn't go away.

The feeling of her head turning reminded her that there was a world beyond the dream. She half-opened her eyes and saw that she was on a train. She was slumped in her seat, leaning against something warm and fleshy. Turning her head and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she saw her sister beside her.

Marika was very confused, for two reasons. One: last time she had checked, she was being knocked unconscious by a vicious alien. And two: she definitely didn't remember buying train tickets to get home. Or boarding the train. Or falling asleep for that matter. And she _always_ remembered falling asleep.

"Where are we?" Marika asked Kaiya.

"I'm going to go ahead and make the assumption that, considering the kind of movement I am feeling, we are on the same train we were on before you fell asleep," she responded monotonously.

"I didn't fall asleep!" Marika said quickly.

"Right," Kaiya began. "And that is why you were muttering some nonsense about liking something. In your sleep. Because you certainly sounded asleep to me. Though I am blind, so I guess I could be wrong."

"Well, I was sleeping," Marika fumbled for words, unsure how to express the situation to her sister. "But it was because of that three-eyed alien! He knocked me out after we followed the demon duck into the circular forest!"

"Wow," her sister replied. "I always knew you were crazy, but you're taking it to a whole new level. Were you talking about liking ducks in your dream, or about this three-eyed guy? I didn't know you were into that sort of thing."

"I'm am, I mean, no, that came out wrong," Marika was quite flustered by her sister's assumption. "I know you couldn't see them, but surely you remember the blood?"

"What blood?" Kaiya asked. "Nee-chan, we have been on this train the whole time except for when we were at the park. I'm pretty sure I'd remember if something was bleeding, or whatever you're talking about. Really, this dream of yours is getting creepy. You're into blood and stuff too?"

"I wasn't dreaming about sex!" Marika yelled, catching the attention of some of the other passengers. She lowered her voice, "We followed a duck into the forest by the lake and it turned huge and tried to eat us, and then that alien guy cut it into a thousand pieces. There was blood everywhere. I am not making this up. It wasn't a dream!"

Kaiya seemed to calm down a bit. "Are you okay?" she asked, more concerned than disbelieving. "Look, I get that you really think this happened, but don't you think I would remember it? I know I don't believe you when you say weird stuff about monsters and shadow-creatures or whatever, but if I experienced it like you think I did, there's no way I would just forget."

Marika considered this. Was she crazy? She had always suspected that something was seriously wrong with her. Sane people didn't see monsters in the dark. Sane people didn't go on rants about demons and aliens. Sane people didn't have dreams about their gay co-workers. And they certainly didn't have strange feelings about rain. That was just silly. If she ever happened to go to a psychologist, she was afraid of what they would say. Would they prescribe some kind of pills for her to take to balance her unstable mind? Or perhaps they would send her to an institution. What use could she be in there? Locked away from her sister while Kaiya went on being blind.

No. There was no way she was going to let that happen. She would get the truth out of Shuichi even if she had to twist his arm. But to even get that far, she had to convince Kaiya that nothing was wrong. Maybe it had been a joke. Yes, that could work.

Marika laughed conspicuously. "Did you think I was being serious? Kaiya, you know me, I'll do anything for a joke."

"Totally," her sister drawled. "That's why you never understand my sarcasm. It all makes sense to me now."

Marika felt as if her sister was convinced. "Hey, let's see what time it is? Maybe we can get some mochi on the way home." She looked down at her phone. "Oh, good, it's only -" Marika cut off her sentence before she could continue.

"Only what?" Kaiya asked, probably wondering what had caused her sister to pause.

"It's three in the afternoon," Marika began, "on Sunday."

"Okay, that sounds right," her sister said. "We did leave this morning."

Marika looked at her sister. She was sure that they had left on Saturday. She was sure. Why did Kaiya seem to think that they had left this morning? Did she think they had been on the train all day? It was a three hour trip each way. They would have needed to leave their house at five to even have any significant amount of time in the city. But Marika said nothing. Perhaps this was part of her delusion. Maybe she was still dreaming. She pinched herself lightly, then discarded the theory. She was definitely awake.

They still had about another fifteen minutes on the train, so there wasn't any point worrying about the weirdness of the situation any longer. A few minutes went by before the inevitable happened: Marika was bored. She sat silently, trying to think of a way to entertain herself.

Marika looked out of the window. She could read some of the billboards that they passed by. But she soon tired of that. She needed something to occupy her mind, like a word game or something.

"What rhymes with Marika?" she asked her sister.

"I don't know," Kaiya responded. "Am I supposed to be a poet?"

"Eureka? Paprika? Zuzika?"

"That isn't even a word," her sister said. "Why on earth are you trying to make something rhyme with your name?"

"I'm bored. I need something to keep me awake," Marika responded shortly. "Hmm, what rhymes with Kaiya? Lieya? Crya? Spya? Haiya? Oh, that's funny. Haiya Kaiya."

She laughed to herself as her sister glared in her direction. They decided not to get mochi on the way home. Both of them were very tired from their journey, which was unsurprising to Marika. After all, they had been gone for two whole days, part of which she was still secretly convinced had involved running from a giant duck. Of course, she knew enough not to mention it to Kaiya anymore.

They talked little at dinner. Kaiya never really talked unless she was engaged in conversation anyway, and Marika was occupied with thoughts of this mystery cure. What could it even be? And why would an architecture major be the one to know about something this scientific? She supposed that he had gotten all of the highest marks in every subject in high school. But this was a major scientific discovery. Why was it that the only people who could make major discoveries about something that was not in their usual field of study were architects? First Michael Ventris and now Minamino Shuichi. It just wasn't fair.

"Goodnight," Kaiya said. Marika hadn't noticed her sister for some time because of her preoccupation. She blinked and saw that not only had her sister finished dinner, but Kaiya had also gone upstairs and changed into her pajamas without help.

"Sweet dreams," Marika said. Her sister's show of independence did not hit her until Kaiya had been gone for ten minutes. "Wait, what?" she said to an empty house.

Her parents came home around midnight. They apologized for not being able to come home all weekend, saying that an emergency had come up. Apparently there had been an explosion downtown and they had been called into action.

Marika smiled, glad that their absence had not been noticed. "It's alright."

Her mother smiled tiredly at her as her father headed upstairs to bed. "Did you have fun with your sister, Marika?"

"I doubt we will ever recover from all the fun, okaa-san," Marika told her seriously. Her mother laughed.

"Well, you had better get to bed. You have classes tomorrow, don't forget."

Marika had forgotten. After all, she had expected to have a whole day to do her homework. That day had been stolen from her by that alien. Of course, she didn't say any of this. Instead, she smiled and headed up into the black pit of torture called her bedroom and attempted to go to sleep. This time there were no dreams, only darkness.

Marika missed two deadlines in her classes because of her weekend excursion. But that didn't matter much to her. Well, it did, but the damage was not irreversible. She spent the whole day waiting for her shift at the shoestore to start. Then she would get Shuichi to tell her everything, or die trying. Not really. But she would punch him, or maybe threaten him with her softball bat.

"Hello, Marika-san," Shuichi said cheerfully when he walked into the shoe store. She had actually made an attempt at being on-time today and, in doing so, had actually arrived before Shuichi - a rare feat.

"Hello, Mi-na-mi-no," Marika said mockingly. Shuichi raised an eyebrow. Seeing his reaction, Marika considered that it was a complete reversal of her behavior from the last time they had seen each other. When he had dropped her off at her house, they had almost been friends, albeit not very good friends.

Marika stalked off to the store room without another word, pretending to be busy at work. As it turned out there was actually some restocking work to do. The shoestore was attracting more customers now that the weather was not preventing people from being in the streets. In fact, there were more people than usual outside because the weather was so nice. Spring was finally starting to show itself. People came in to get shoes for sports that would be starting up soon, or simply to get a new fashion for the season. It seemed that everyone was out enjoying the weather. The door was never closed for very long with the constant stream of people coming in and out of the store. Marika had never worked on a day that was this busy.

Eventually she made her way back behind the counter. The rush had only lasted for about an hour after most people got out of school. Now, it was getting later in the day and many people were deserting the streets for their own homes. Unfortunately, that meant she was back with Shuichi. She was still angry at him for withholding the information from her, even though by all accounts he should have no reason to think she was seeking a cure for blindness.

"Have I done something to offend you, Shiraga-san?" he asked, a slight edge to his voice. She reluctantly turned toward him. He was staring quite intensely at her, but not at her eyes. Marika followed the direction of his gaze and saw a mosquito perched on top of her shoulder. She shivered. Disgustedly, she smacked it with the flat of her palm, splattering its guts and the blood it had been drinking from her all over her work shirt.

"Eww," Marika said, casually wiping her hand off on a tissue. "So, Minamino-san, what do you know about blindness?"

Shuichi took a moment to respond. He still seemed disturbed by the mosquito. He was staring at her hand as she wiped it off. Was he really that squeamish about blood? But he shook it off as he considered her question. "Not really all that much," he said.

"'Not really all that much'," Marika repeated disbelievingly. "Are you sure about that?"

"Shiraga-san, are you alright?" he asked suspiciously, "You aren't acting like yourself."

Marika laughed without humor. "Sure, I must be the one who is strange. After all, who else would believe in miracle cures, duck demons, and three-eyed men?" she exclaimed in a harsh whisper. To herself she added, "Maybe that man hit me too hard. Crazy red-eyed demon."

Shuichi's eyes widened. "Did you say 'red-eyed demon'?"

Marika met his eyes harshly. The way he was looking at her made her feel uncomfortable. His tone of voice reminded her of Kaiya's when she had been attempting to convince her sister of their misadventures in the forest of Mushiyori City. It was the disbelieving tone of someone who would not understand that she was not crazy. She was sure she wasn't. It had all felt so real.

"No, Shuichi," she said, lightening up on him a bit, though she was still quite angry that he knew nothing about a mystery cure for blindness. "I said Heinrich Schliemann. You know, the man who discovered Mycenae."

"If you say so," Shuichi said. For once, it was him who went to stock the shelves as an excuse to avoid Marika. She wasn't complaining. Since they were so busy, they didn't have much time to talk for the rest of the day anyway.

Five o'clock came around soon enough and it was time to go home. Marika was gathering up her stuff when Shuichi spoke from behind her. "I have somewhere I have to go. Sorry that I can't drive you home, Marika-san."

She turned around to look at him, but his bangs hid his eyes. He seemed quite upset about something. Since she was feeling bad about mistreating him earlier, she decided to ask him about it. "Okay," she said, "is everything okay, Shuichi?"

"Fine, there is nothing wrong," Shuichi said shortly. "I just have an errand I have to run for my mother on the opposite side of town."

Of course it would be his mother. It was well known at the University that he didn't get out much due to his devotion to her. One of Marika's classmates who had gone to high school with him had told her that he had used his mother as an excuse when she had asked him out on a date for a friday night. She said he did the same to every girl who had shown interest in him, using either family commitments or homework as a reason not to go out and socialize. It was probably a touchy subject, after all, he was in the closet. Marika regretted asking.

"See you tomorrow then," she said apathetically. They each went their separate ways.

Marika made her usual way around to Kaiya's school to walk home with her sister, but they didn't talk much on the way home. Marika had a lot of things on her mind, and she couldn't talk about any of them with her sister. Kaiya hated hearing that Marika still had hope that she could be able to see again, and she definitely had made it clear that she didn't like to hear about the weekend trip. And those two subjects were currently taking up a large amount of Marika's thinking space. She ran her thoughts around in circles, considering ways to try and find out if Shuichi was telling the truth about his lack of knowledge about blindness without making him suspicious or angry.

She also convinced herself that the dream was real, and that it wasn't just wishful thinking that her artsy, gay co-worker had stumbled onto some ground-breaking discovery that could cure the blind. And if the dream was real, then that meant that her other dreams were real as well. Sure enough, the dream she had had about Kaiya being blind had turned out to be true, as had her dream about the alien and the fox.

So perhaps that meant that her dream about Shuichi's discovery had just not yet come to pass. She ignored the meaning of that thought for a minute, before realizing what it meant. If she dreamed about things before they happened, did that mean she could see the future? No, that didn't happen in real life. She really was losing her mind. Next she would start believing in Shinigami and King Yama. Though she supposed it was a good thing that she realized what these things sounded like. They said that those who were truly insane did not think there was anything wrong with their delusions.

Kaiya went straight to her room to start on her homework when they got home. Marika set up her books at her desk in the kitchen for the eventuality that Kaiya would end up outside again. It happened almost every night. She hoped that it would be awhile before her sister retreated to the outdoors today. She must have almost as much homework to catch up on as Marika did, and Marika had a lot.

Two hours later, as if on cue, her sister stomped down the stairs and marched out the door without a word. Marika went up stairs into her sister's room and removed the offending artwork so that Kaiya wouldn't get upset when she returned to her room. She had learned to do this early on after the accident. Even though her sister couldn't see the canvas, if she went over to her easel and felt a canvas with paint on it sitting there, it would cause her frustration to resurface and she would go back outside, undoing all of Marika's efforts to coax her back inside.

Today's painting was all in red, though Marika couldn't tell what it was supposed to be. She put it in the trash and went back to work after lighting a lantern and setting it out on the porch. She then began her tiring vigil, trying to get work done in between glances at her sister.

It was starting to get dark when a sudden movement to her sister's left made her heart jump out of her chest. A small man had jumped out of the tree that Kaiya was sitting under. And it wasn't just any man. This man was only over five feet tall, if you counted his gravity-defying hair, and Marika was sure that if he removed his bandana there would be three eyes staring at her little sister instead of the usual two. The alien had come back for them. Sighing heavily, she went into the cabinet and grabbed a bag of soy beans.

* * *

**Panda: Heinrich Schliemann. Cool dude.**

**Armadilllo: I love Heinrich Schliemann. He is so useful. Like for rhyming things with. He really isn't useful for much else. He was kind of a douche. And he stole priceless artifacts from mankind and gave them to his wife. (and the aliens;)**

**Panda: Since I have no more creative comments I can make, other than that I smell funny, I'll give you the lovely chapter eight preview.**

_**The Man from the Tree:**_

**frustration; Hiei; inside house; talk; doorbell**

**Oh look! Hiei is in that chapter. I don't know why, but I had a really hard time writing it. It was awful. But I like it. Yeah. See you again Saturday!**

**Love,**

**C. E. Taylor & G.E. Hemmy**


	8. The Man From The Tree

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**The Man From The Tree**

**(SORRY THIS IS LATE! I GOT DISTRACTED BY THAT GUY THAT I LIKE AND SLENDERMAN AND BAYONETTA AND GETTING THE LIFE SCARED OUT OF ME IN THE BATHROOM. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEEEE.)**

**A/N:**

**Panda: So. I'm being super social. With people. At college. I crashed a party yesterday. It was fun. My friend is showing me weird electronic things. What is even going on? I don't know. TELL ME KENT WILLIAMS!**

**Armadilllo: Well, I certainly don't know. Haha, I spent the day playing baseball and looking at cabooses and watching some "Welcome Back, Kotter" and Yu Yu Hakusho, of course. My brothers really like it. Also, someone teepeed my neighbor's house. Who does that anymore? Seriously.**

**Panda: No one does. That's weird. Haha I'm about to watch people play scary video games. And. Yeah. Maybe get food from food places. And I don't own anything except for my characters. And Armadilllo owns hers. And we own the plot. Yeah. I like cats.**

**Armadilllo: I won't be back till late tomorrow. I'm leaving around five or six, so yeah. But Easter should be fun. I might get a haircut, and I got a new water bottle. And my cousins are gone now. But all day it was like "Well, Grace can decide what we do." And I was all like "Well, what do you want to do?" And they didn't want to go into the city or anything, so we played some baseball and stuck around town. And my town is boring. And when I asked my one cousin what he wanted to do, he was like "Go Home". So in general it was taxing. But I still love them. And cows. **

**Panda: Haha that was a long story. But nice. Lol I'm so tired right now. But yeah. I think that is all I have to say.**

**Armadilllo: Yeah, me too, so enjoy chapter eight and have a Happy Easter!**

* * *

It wasn't working. No matter how hard she tried to visualize what the canvas looked like, she couldn't make it reflect the image she had in her mind. It had been bothering her for the whole day; she wanted to paint something red. She didn't know what it was. Even if she could see, she still doubted she would be able to paint it. It was almost like a blob. A red blob. But the red blob had emotions. She could not figure out where this idea of hers had come from. What had happened that she associated with the color red? It made no sense.

She ran her hands over the dried paint and scowled again. At least she usually painted shapes with the skill equal to that of a four year old. This was nothing. It was crap. It was a blob of red mixed together. Even if she could manage to paint what she wanted to, how was she supposed to make a red blob convey all that she wanted it to convey?

She couldn't.

It was just a stupid, red blob. Her frustration welled up inside her, as usual, and she moved away from her easel, plopping down onto her bed. She put her head in her hands and groaned. She didn't care if she could never see again. She didn't care if her sister was crazy or not. She didn't care if her parents made an effort to talk to her. In that moment, all she wanted to do was paint - and she wanted to paint well. She wanted to be able to transpose her emotions onto the canvas, if only to help release them. She wanted to _paint_.

Her sister didn't make a sound when Kaiya stormed down the stairs and out the back door, removing her slippers on the way. She breathed in the air and found her favorite, most alive tree, plopping down in front of it with her legs pulled up to her chest. She put her forehead down on her knees and closed her eyes as though it made a difference.

Today had been harder than normal. She felt like she had lost a part of herself, but she couldn't quite put her finger on how. It probably wasn't important. She was probably just being melodramatic. But memories that she preferred to lock away from the forefront of her mind seemed to have been shaken up, as though someone walked into her brain and shuffled around some of the files.

One of those memories was of the day Ryo broke up with her. Out of all of her memories after she lost her vision, it was the one she blocked out the most. They had been dating for almost six months when he broke things off. A week after she lost her sight, she spoke to him again. The conversation wasn't very stimulating.

"Hi," he greeted quietly. She had imagined his light brown hair and dark brown eyes, similar to the color of her own before she had gone blind.

"Hi," she whispered in response. He didn't respond for a while, as though he was contemplating some great issue of life. She was content, though. It was nice to be around him, even if she couldn't see him anymore; he was still the same guy she thought she might be falling in love with. She played with the bottom of the shirt she was wearing - she had no idea what shirt it was - as she waited for him to say something else.

"Look," he started, finally. "This isn't going to work."

Her hands stilled. She didn't want to deal with this right now. No, she _couldn't_ deal with this. She had just lost everything that meant anything to her as an individual, and now she was going to lose one of the people she cared about most, too? It couldn't happen. She had to be misinterpreting. There was no way that kind, thoughtful Ryo would leave her at a time like that.

"What do you mean?" she asked for clarification, though she was afraid of the answer.

"I can't do _this_," he said, more confidently than last time. "I can't do us. With you being blind... this is just too much."

It didn't make any sense. Ryo wasn't that shallow. He just _wasn't_. Never before had he cared that she wasn't the curviest girl in their grade. Never before had he cared that her face was not as perfectly symmetrical as other people's. He had never cared that her hair wasn't quite as smooth, or that she didn't have quite as much freedom as some of the other girls. Why was it so important that she could see? She was still the same person, wasn't she?

They hadn't said much more. Kaiya would have cried if her eyes weren't still so dry from the accident. He left her then, and she hadn't seen or heard from him since. After that, she had to go to her new school for disabled people. There were only a few other people that even had to go there, and none of them ever tried to make friends with each other. Her old friends from junior high cut off contact with her; she was left with nothing except her family.

Without being able to paint - or do anything at all, really - she was unable to let out her emotions. When she wasn't at school, she sat around doing nothing. Sometimes she went outside to her tree. Sometimes she tried to paint - and then got frustrated and sat under her tree. She couldn't read. She couldn't help out around the house. She got so moody that her parents refused to deal with her anymore. All she had left was Marika.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt like someone was watching her. Was it her sister? No. Well, yes, but she had never _felt_ her sister watching her when she was outside before. She was too far away. There was someone else there, but she didn't feel as though she should be frightened.

She focused on the feeling emanating from the person. They were male, that was for sure. Was is someone she knew? Maybe Marika's gay co-worker was hiding out in their woods. No, this feeling was from someone she met before, yet at the same time she was almost certain that she had no recognition of it in the slightest. For some reason, her mother's curry came to mind.

She heard a thump beside her, as though something - someone? - had just fallen out of the tree above her. "Who's there?" she asked into the air in front of her. For some unfathomable reason, it didn't bother her that, apparently, a person had just appeared by her side from her favorite tree. An almost subconscious part of her soul was telling her that it was normal and that this man, whoever he was, wasn't going to hurt her. "Have we ever met before?" She still couldn't tell if he felt familiar or not.

He didn't verbally respond, but she felt him move closer as though he was scrutinizing her face. She then felt a strange sensation - as though a feather was floating around in her mind, tickling the insides. "Hn," his masculine voice grunted as the feather-feeling dissipated again. There had been a moment, before it went away, that she was certain she knew him - but as soon as the feather left, so did that certainty.

"Get away from her!" she heard her sister exclaim. Somehow she had missed her sister's presence joining them while she was focused on the unfamiliar familiarity of this man. She briefly considered that, for once, she was the sister that was being irrational. Logically speaking, this man had just either jumped or fallen out of her tree. He hadn't spoken a word, unless she counted his grunt, and it wasn't like she knew him - except that she did know him, but she still didn't at the same time. It _would_ be bad if he was some kind of rapist or something, but her gut instinct was saying 'Trust me, Kaiya!'

"Why are you freaking out? It isn't a big deal. I feel like I've met him before," she explained, attempting to rationalize her beliefs with both her sister and her own mind.

Marika let out a sound of discontent, as though she was confused. "He is not normal!" she yelled. Kaiya was then pelted with many small, hard objects.

"What are you doing?" she asked, annoyed.

"I'm throwing soybeans at him just in case he is an Oni," Marika explained. "He is _not normal_. Maybe he will leave us alone!" Kaiya had strengthened her resolve. It was one thing to be suspicious of a random guy in their woods, but being blatantly rude to him without hearing his own side of the story first was just... generally not okay.

"Okay? Being blind isn't normal. Neither is being... well... you. And what if I don't want him to leave us alone?" she jibed, not entirely sure where her comebacks were coming from. Some part of her emotions had taken hold, and she was briefly disheartened by that fact that she was unable to logically explain the situation at hand. She just _knew_ that she could trust him. His presence reminded her of a blanket covering her in a cold room.

"You can't mean that!" her sister exclaimed. "It's more than the fact that he is weird. He... Oh my god! He's got a sword!"

"Oh really? Swords are kinda cool. People have them in fantasy stories," she responded, continuing to defend whoever this man was. What was she doing? Swords were dangerous. It was weird that he had a sword. People don't just carry around _swords_. Why couldn't she just accept the fact that her sister was right?

"Yeah? Well they aren't that cool if you are cut in half by one!" Marika defended herself. Kaiya calmed down briefly. It was that same feeling of trust, like a whisper locked away in a file cabinet in the back of her mind that said _I already told you, woman, I am not going to kill you_. Even though she was sure he said no such thing.

"Will you both just shut up?" the man interrupted, allowing his voice to be heard for the first time. Kaiya only got more confused - that voice wasn't familiar at all. Did she know him, or didn't she?

"No, you shut up. Get out of here!" Marika yelled at the man. "You shouldn't even be here! You don't exist!"

"Of course he exists! He's here, isn't he?" Kaiya responded before the man could say anything on his own behalf. "I still don't get why you are freaking out so much!" Except maybe because there was some random guy in their backyard that had a sword. That could be a reason. A pretty valid one.

"Oh, so now you think he exists? You weren't so keen to say that when I told you about him earlier," the brunette jabbed. Kaiya furrowed her brow. Was she supposed to remember him? Was that why she felt like she knew him?

"What are you talking about now?" she asked for clarification.

"This is the alien that I told you about. He has three eyes and everything!" Marika exclaimed. Kaiya understood, then, what was going on. Well, not understood as much as made the decision that her sister was still trying to justify her spell of insanity, taking advantage of Kaiya's blindness, by using this strange man.

"Oh, so now he has three eyes too?" she asked. It was quite strange, really. And, furthermore, Kaiya was stuck with another possible reason behind her sister's insistence that this man was dangerous. "What is this, another one of your ploys to get me inside for dinner at a time that you find reasonable?"

"You idiot! Come inside before you get killed!" the brunette yelled. She felt even more soybeans hit her - perhaps the man had moved and her sister was making another attempt to scare him away. As though soybeans would do anything. It almost made her want to laugh. Then she got an excellent idea.

"Fine! But he's coming with me!" she asserted, pointing in the direction she was pretty sure the man was standing.

"Kaiya, is this really necessary?" Marika asked. "I am running out of soybeans!"

"Yes! Yes, it is necessary!" she continued, ignoring the comment about soybeans. She finally rose up off of the ground, brushing off her thighs and hands.

"You are so stubborn!" her sister complained. "Can't you see that he is going to kill us?" Kaiya's face shot up in Marika's direction at the comment; she knew it wasn't true. Hadn't she made it clear enough that he could be trusted?

"He is not!" she objected. "He would have already if that was his intention. We _have_ just been standing here, and he obviously isn't stupid."

"Don't ask me to explain the workings of the alien mind!" Marika retorted. "Kaiya, come inside NOW!"

The younger girl narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms. "I already told you yes if he comes too."

"No, absolutely not. If that is your condition for coming inside then you can just stay out here! I will not have that creature in our house," the brunette decided. Had she realized exactly what she just said? Kaiya was always happier outside; how was that supposed to make her change her mind?

"Well, good," she replied. "I will. I like it better out here anyway."

There was a brief pause before Marika continued again. "You really aren't coming in?" she asked.

Kaiya shrugged, leaning back against her tree. She was not going to just give up in this argument. "Again, not unless he does. It's just rude to lock him outside. What if he has to pee?"

"I do not," the man contributed. Kaiya's eye almost twitched in annoyance. Whose side was he even on? There she was, taking a huge leap and trusting a strange man who came from a tree, and he wouldn't even _pretend_ like he had to pee? He clearly didn't understand the intricacies of the situation at hand.

"See?" Marika argued. "He will be fine out here. He came from outside and he can stay outside. You came from inside. NOW GET INSIDE THE HOUSE!"

Kaiya's resolve only grew stronger. "Okay." She briefly wondered exactly what the expression was that was on her sister's face as she clasped her small hand on the man's long sleeve, pulling him in the direction of the house. For some reason, she thought he might be the kind of person to reject such treatment, but she suspected that the insanity demonstrated by her sister could have placed him into a state of such confusion that he didn't even know what to do anymore.

She certainly felt that way sometimes around Marika.

"Get back outside, you monster!" her sister exclaimed, finally following the pair into the house. "What do you even want from us? Just leave us alone!"

"Just calm down, nee-chan," Kaiya suggested calmly, releasing the sleeve of the mysterious man from the tree.

"Neither of you are supposed to know who I am," the man interjected. Kaiya still wasn't sure if she knew who he was or not. "I came to fix that problem."

"What are you going to do, take us to the mother ship?" Marika inquired. the black-haired girl sighed as her sister tried to be brave. Did she seriously think this guy was an alien? Well, it did seem strange that he wanted to wipe their memories, but that didn't mean he was an _alien_.

"Stupid human," he insulted the brunette. "I am not an alien."

"Then what? You were born with three eyes?" Marika asked. Kaiya inwardly sighed again. It was a wonder her sister used to hook up with so many guys; she clearly didn't know how to make a positive impression on someone.

"That isn't any of your business," tree-man answered.

"So, then, how did you get it? Childhood accident? Freak circus riot? Did you have to have surgery because you used to be a cyclops? Did you want to join a sideshow?" the brunette provoked.

"Nee-chan, stop it! You're just being rude!" Kaiya exclaimed, stepping towards her sister. It was so insensitive! What if there was an emotional reason behind it - assuming he had a third eye, to begin with - that he wasn't comfortable sharing with two strangers? That isn't something you just interrogate people about!

"He was the one who came into our house to erase all our memories. Why aren't you yelling at him?" Marika asked. Kaiya's face was emotionless as she regarded her sister's attempt at trying to turn around the argument.

"First of all, he came into our house because I invited him in, in case you forgot," she began.

"Not your brightest idea," Marika muttered.

"Second of all," Kaiya ignored her, "I don't have any of these crazy memories you seem to have about aliens and geese, or whatever it was you said attacked us."

"It was a duck." The brunette's voice sounded wounded.

"And third, I can't see. Maybe you've gone so crazy that you're hallucinating. Maybe he's a psychologist, finally come to help you and you just THINK he's an alien!" Kaiya suggested. Speaking realistically, she knew it wasn't true. Psychologists didn't jump out of trees. In that situation, it would imply that both of them were hallucinating. And Kaiya was certain that this man was real.

"No, my intention is to wipe your memories. Ignore her," said man interjected again. Kaiya almost groaned. Why did he feel the need to be so straightforward? When would he realize that this argument wasn't even really about him? He was only making things more difficult for her.

"See? The weird guy knows that I am sane," her sister asserted.

"I wouldn't go that far," tree-man amended. Kaiya took back her last thought - apparently he wasn't siding with anyone. She was glad to know he found her sister just as insane as she did.

"I still don't want you in the house, you freaky dwarf," Marika insulted him. Kaiya finally did groan.

"Oh good lord," she began, trying a different approach to the situation. She turned in the direction she had last heard tree-man's voice come from. "Did you wipe whatever memories I had that she thinks she has?"

"Yes," he responded shortly.

"HAHA! I told you so!" Marika exclaimed. The black-haired girl was surprised her eye hadn't _actually_ started twitching. It appeared that neither tree-man nor her sister had realized that the argument ran deeper than they were taking it.

"That isn't the point!" she asserted. "My point is that I'm fine. I wasn't injured. Everything about me is exactly how it was before. Maybe you aren't supposed to know what you do. Maybe it's like _Inception_. No, that isn't the right movie. But you know what I mean!" She couldn't remember the name, but it was some American movie where the government or something similar wiped your mind if you knew too much information about them.

"No, I actually don't. What if he was trying to get us to forget something could save our lives later?" the brunette asked.

"Why would our lives be in danger?" Kaiya retorted. According to her sister's summary, they had been following a pigeon that turned into a demon that was then destroyed by, apparently, the man that was in their living room, only to have their memory wiped and returned safely home. Well, really only Kaiya's memory was wiped in that explanation, but that wasn't relevant. The point was that nothing in that story was something that would threaten their lives.

"She is right. The likelihood of you entering the Demon World again once I wipe your memory is extremely low," the man agreed.

'Glad someone can see reason,' she thought before she realized exactly what was going on. Her sister was insane; she already knew that much. But now this man from the tree was actually corroborating her story. 'Maybe nee-chan was right,' she thought. 'I should try harder to keep crazy out of the house.'

"So you just expect me to be okay with having a chunk of my memories erased? Am I supposed to thank you?" Marika asked. Kaiya reconsidered yet again. She couldn't erase the fact that, immediately upon feeling the energy from tree-man, she had felt as though she had met him before, but something was blocking the truth from her mind. If he _had_ actually wiped her memory and saved them from the penguin, that would explain why she recognized him.

"Yes," he responded. Yes, if they really were both sane, Kaiya figured it was a good idea for her sister to just accept that she wasn't meant to have those memories. If she stopped fighting and just let him wipe her memories, their lives could go back to normal - or as normal as their lives were before they stumbled into tree-man's home land.

"Well, excuse me if I don't kiss the soles of your feet, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera," her sister mocked. "Your ego is so large that I would not even reach that far."

"Nee-chan!" Kaiya exclaimed again. Positive impression! How was it that she inherited _all_ of the ability to have good manners while her sister had none? Perhaps she had left her manners in the womb, so Kaiya picked up double when she came out.

"Kaiya," Marika began, "are you really telling me that this does not strike you as odd? He just strolls out of the forest -"

"Actually, he jumped out of a tree," she refuted. Of course she thought it was odd. Her sister didn't need to know that, though.

"And demands to wipe my memories and then tells me that I should thank him. If that is not a sign of a serious superiority complex I don't know what is."

"He was _probably_ referring to when you asked if you should just be okay with it," Kaiya explained. Finally, she could actually _share_ one of her logical arguments. "And, either way, no matter how weird this situation is, you really shouldn't be so rude. How will you ever make any friends?" Though she would never admit it, Kaiya's heart clenched in jealousy that her sister had the opportunity to meet so many people and form so many bonds, but she was just throwing it away like she had thrown away her ability to be polite.

"If the only kind of friends I would be alienating with my behavior are short, three-eyed monsters then I really don't see much of a problem with it, actually," Marika continued. Kaiya was offended. The argument had just cut deeper than the brunette probably intended it to. Ryo had left her because she was blind. So what if this guy had three eyes? So what if he was short? So was she, for one, and furthermore, you can't just _judge_ someone just become that have something wrong with their appearance. Maybe he hadn't chosen to have a third eye, or maybe he needed it for something. It just wasn't fair for Marika to judge him without even giving him a chance to explain!

"Seriously? You're actually that shallow?" she asked breathlessly. "I'm glad I'm blind; I can't - even if I want to - judge people on their height or... or whatever else you think is wrong with him."

"It's not just how he looks," Marika argued, "and besides, in this particular situation, I think that I am in the right to say that he is some kind of demon."

"Hn," the man grunted.

"That's confirmation enough for me. See what you've done, Kaiya? You invited a psychotic demon into our house." Kaiya rolled her eyes. "How are we going to get rid of him?" Before she could think up a retort, a loud knocking sound was heard on their front door.

* * *

**Panda: Yeah. I had trouble with this chapter. Yeah. I'm still feeling lazy and don't have much to say. Yeah.**

**Armadilllo: Okay. So if you want, you can just give them the preview.**

**Panda: I can't actually. I can only have one thing open on my phone. But I can do it later. If you'd like me to do it. Hahahaha.**

**Armadilllo: Naw, it's chill. I can do it.**

**Preview for Chapter 9: An Unexpected Explanation:**

**Kurama; Hiei; explanation; Kaiya comment**

**Yeah, that kinda gives it all away, but I still like Chapter 9. It's cool.**

**Panda: Yupp. Yeah. Wow that was redundant. But um. I don't think I have anything else to say. But yeah. We will update again on Saturday. And it will be fun. And I need to get on chapter fourteen eventually. And yeah. Slenderman. It's a video game. Yeah. I'm done now.**

**Love,**

**C. E. Taylor & & G.E. Hemmy**


	9. An Unexpected Explanation

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**An Unexpected Explanation**

**A/N: **

**Panda: HI GUYS I AM REALLY SORRY THAT I AM SUCH A SLACKER I HAVE HAD A TON OF STUFF GOING ON FOR SCHOOL AND EVEN THOUGH THESE CHAPTERS WERE ALL ALREADY WRITTEN MY SATURDAYS WERE SUPER BOOKED AND I WAS TIRED AND LIFE WAS TOO MUCH AND THIS IS TECHNICALLY BEING POSTED LATE BUT IT WILL STILL BE SATURDAY SOMEWHERE AND I AM REALLY SORRY AND IT IS ALL MY FAULT AND NOT ARMADILLLO'S AND PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND KEEP READING THIS STORY.**

**Armadilllo: She didn't sleep for three weeks, if that makes any difference to any of you. But anyway, now that that really long apology is out of the way... This is a good chapter. One of my favorites, but not as good as Guys and Dolls. That is crazy good.**

**Panda: Blegh. I did that in seventh grade. And I didn't love it then. But I will trust that the version you saw was as fantastic as you say it was. I don't actually remember what happens in this chapter. Yeah.**

**Armadilllo: Well - as for this chapter - Marika is about to receive a surprise visitor. As for Guys and Dolls. It was actually terrible, but Luke was amazing. I wanted to sit down, he was rocking the boat so much. **

**Panda: Whoa. That is some legit boat-rocking. Oh, Armadilllo, your least favorite JCA member is trying to figure out who I am romantically interested in. His guesses are all very incorrect.**

**Armadilllo: Blegh. Gross. He probably can't figure it out. Doug says he has a small penis because of what he did. But I don't personally know. **

**Panda: LOLOL people are looking at me funny cuz I'm laughing. Yeah, he is Webmaster next year. The English language is PR. Jen is fundraising chair. My GBig is President! Yeah. And. I'm really tired. **

**Armadilllo: Where are you right now?**

**Panda: 7th floor lounge, our side, watching a movie/trying to keep the English language from dying (wouldn't that suck? How would we speak without English?).**

**Armadilllo: That sounds serious. Hmm, but anyway, we don't own anything. :D**

**Panda: Correct. Except our people. I hope there are still people reading this story and I am sorry and I love you all.**

**Armadilllo: And since I have hope that there are people reading this, without further ado, here is Chapter 9: An Unexpected Explanation!**

* * *

They all stood there for a moment, looking in the direction of the door. Marika's eyes fell on her sister's painting, the one that hung above the brown upholstered couch. It was a landscape of narrow white barked trees with purple leaves. Though the colors were so unusual, they looked like they could have been part of the forest that was in their backyard. That was what had been great about her sister's art. She had always managed to include enough of the real world in her paintings even though it also seemed that they belonged to another dimension.

The living room, where Marika had been freaking out over their 'visitor', was separated from the door by a half wall. The walls were painted red because their mother believed that the color would make this house, where they had moved after Kaiya's accident, luckier than their previous one.

Marika strode over to the door, glaring warily behind her at the short scary man who had taken up residence in the windowsill. He wasn't paying her or her sister any attention at the moment, looking longingly past Marika at the door as if he was expecting some kind of backup.

The doorbell rang again as soon as Marika got to it, though it had taken her barely any time to get to the door. She opened it and nearly ran into Minamino Shuichi, who had burst in as if he was being chased.

"Shuichi?" Marika said incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

He had advanced almost into the next room where Kaiya and the glaring alien were sitting, but he stopped at the sound of her voice. Sheepishly, he turned and made a quick bow, taking off his shoes and setting them by the door. Marika furrowed her brow and studied him. He was worried about his manners?

Shuichi laughed nervously, brandishing a book from out of nowhere. "Sorry, Shiraga-san, I thought you might want your book back."

Marika's eyes widened when she saw what he was talking about. It was _The Pool of Siloam_, her book about blindness. He shouldn't have that. She hadn't even brought it out of her room since Friday. "Um, thanks," she said lamely.

"Stay out of this Kurama," the alien said shortly. "I have it covered."

Shuichi raised an eyebrow, his face pulling into a surprised smile.

"Kurama?" Marika stared at the red-haired man. "What is he talking about, Shuichi? Do you know him?"

What was happening to her life? It just got stranger and stranger. Not only had her so-called "delusions" come back to haunt her, but now the most boring person she knew was also involved. Not only that, but the book in her hand was still bothering her. No one could have possibly gotten in and out of her room without her knowing about it. Maybe Shuichi was also a cat burglar. At this point, it wouldn't surprise her. It might actually make the situation more normal.

Shuichi glared at the short man. "How on earth do you think you have this covered? You cannot wipe her memory. Didn't you learn that the first time, Hiei?"

So he had met the alien before! That meant she wasn't crazy. Conversely, it could mean that Shuichi was delusional. But why would they be having the same delusion?

"Hn," Hiei made a noise at the back of his throat, "If it won't work, then we should just cut our losses and kill them now."

"Normally I would agree," Shuichi said, ignoring Marika's look of blatant terror, "that is, until I had a run in with a C-class Racoon Demon outside of this house."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hiei said.

"Well, it certainly wasn't after either of us, considering that it didn't even see me until it was too late." Shuichi locked eyes with his friend. "They were after someone in this house."

"Are they after Kaiya?" Marika asked. "That doesn't make sense. Why would they be after a blind girl?"

"Stupid human," Hiei commented. He looked out the window, seeming content to let Shuichi control the situation.

"I don't know," the red-haired boy said. "The demon wasn't really in the mood to talk."

The way he said it made it seem as though the demon hadn't been _able _to talk. Marika hated the look in his eyes. He seemed as if he would murder that raccoon a thousand times over, but that he was disappointed he had not been able to squeeze any information out of his death. His normally soft eyes were hard and unforgiving. Strangely enough, the image that came to her mind was that of a fox protecting his den.

There were few times when Marika actually considered how strange her thought process was, but this was one of those times. She was sure he was just in some kind of shock. He had just been attacked by a raccoon. Yes, it was shock. He was under the impression that demons existed, after all. That was not normal.

"Shuichi, you aren't making sense," Marika said. "Demons don't exist."

Shuichi looked at her intently as if sizing her up. "Do you really believe that? Think of all the strange things that have been happening to you Marika. Three-eyed men and fox-tailed girls? These things certainly don't exist in the spectrum of the human world. Would it surprise you if I told you that Hiei and I are demons?"

She considered that for a moment. Now that she was focussing on it, they did seem to exude a certain type of power that was unique to anything Marika had ever felt. But at the same time, it felt vaguely familiar, though it took her a moment to realize where she had felt it before. It had been in the forest by the lake in Mushiyori City.

"So, was that forest full of demons?" she asked Shuichi.

"If you'd like to think of it that way, then yes," he answered. "That forest was in a place called Demon World."

"So it was a different dimension," Marika said, sure that it was true.

"Yes," Shuichi said.

"And your real name is -" Marika began, trying to remember what the demon Hiei had called him.

"Minamino Shuichi is my human name," he replied carefully. "Why don't you call me that for now?"

"Suit yourself," Marika said, though it bothered her that he wouldn't reveal his demon name. "So are they after our parents, do you think?"

"I doubt it," Hiei said. "They wouldn't waste their time on mundane humans."

Marika ignored the insult to her parents because something much more pressing made its attention known to her. Her brain wasn't very fast at math, but even it had figured out that four people in the house, minus three people whom the demons said they weren't interested in, left one option for the target of the raccoon attack. And that was her.

"Well, they aren't after me," she said stubbornly. "I have never done anything to upset a raccoon in my life."

"It is unlikely that it acted of its own accord," Shuichi told her. "But I wouldn't dismiss your value to them so rashly. There is a reason Hiei was unsuccessful at wiping your memories." The demon glared unhappily at Shuichi from the windowsill. "You have a high level of spirit awareness, though you are untrained in how to use it. That fact alone could make you a good ally or a tool for their enemies."

Marika didn't know what any of this really meant, but if Shuichi told her that she had some great power, then she guessed she should believe him. He was generally pretty trustworthy in her experience. When he wasn't trying to hide his knowledge of silly little things like _a cure for blindness_ or _an alternate dimension full of demons._ One thing didn't make sense to her though. "If I have always been like this, then why would they choose now to come after me?"

"Again, I am not sure" he began, "but the demon world is on the brink of revolution. They could simply want to eat you," to himself, he added, "or, it could be that they are trying to get to me."

"What?" Marika said incredulously. How did that even make sense?

Shuichi recovered quickly. "I just mean that they would have seen us interacting on a regular basis and assumed that killing you would injure my mental state. Anything that could take my mind off the fight would be seen as a worthwhile reason."

"Not that it would have worked," Hiei mused from his seat on the windowsill. "Those fools underestimate your ability to compartmentalize. Even having the death of an innocent child on your hands would not affect your focus."

"Thank you for your confidence, Hiei," Shuichi said quietly. He stared at the ground in frustration, his eyes hidden by his long bangs. "I should have seen this coming! Genkai warned me that I would be a target. After all, I did get further than either you or Yusuke in the first tournament."

"Genkai?" Marika's question brought the two demons out of their conversation. They had been so focused on each other that they had barely been noticing anyone else. Was this one of Shuichi's gay lovers perhaps?

Hiei glared at her as though he had heard her thoughts. Could he read her mind? _Yes, you fool, _came the gravely response of the demon. So was that what the third eye did?

"She is a human psychic who trains people to control their ability to sense and use spirit energy," Shuichi said, smiling at her.

A spirit tutor in Kyoto? Well, he hadn't said anything about her living there. But it seemed likely that anyone he knew couldn't live that far away. She thought about the things that Shuichi had said, taking them each into account.

Demons were real.

That, she could easily accept. It was easier than she supposed it should have been for her to take that as truth. Everything crazy that had happened could be explained by the existence of demons. Not to mention that it would mean that Marika was not crazy. Or maybe someone had set this all up just to play a joke on her. Though she didn't know who would do that. Kaiya wouldn't do something that vicious, or at least she hoped that her sister would have more respect for her than that. The man called Hiei didn't seem to care enough to do anything, not to mention that he had told her at least three times how stupid she was. And that was not much of a way to get someone to believe your story. That left her co-worker. Shuichi could have been lying, but she doubted he was the kind of person to go through all that effort just to make her seem crazy.

Hiei and Shuichi were demons.

Both of them certainly exuded an aura of power that was undeniable. It was easier to believe that Hiei was a demon than to think that Shuichi was one, though. Hiei definitely looked, well, not human. And the way he said the word humans showed just how little respect he had for them, as if he was more powerful or otherwise better in some way. It was more difficult to see the smiling red-haired boy who cared so much for his mother as some kind of creepy being from another world. But he seemed to know so much about everything, that Marika could start to see where the human side of him ended and the demon side began.

Marika herself possessed some kind of crazy spirit abilities.

This was less crazy than the time where she had convinced herself that her dreams really came true. That in itself sounded like something out of a princess fairy tale, except that instead of her dreams being about finding a prince, they foretold her meeting demons and her sister being struck blind and who knew what else. Compared to that, this was the most normal thing anyone had ever told her. She had always been able to feel when things were about to go wrong, though she usually ignored the feeling at the time and only remembered it after everything _had _gone wrong. Just like the day that she had left her sister to go to the arcade with some boy. She had felt that something would go wrong, but she had ignored it. Hindsight really was the worst.

Demons were coming after her.

The raccoon that Shuichi had run into kind of made that point irrefutable. She wondered how else they had been trying to get to her. She thought if she had felt anything wrong lately. The mosquito. Had that really been an attempt on her life? She remembered the look on Shuichi's face when she had swatted the bug.

Wait! But if he had known about that, what else had he not been telling her? (Besides what he knew about curing her sister's blindness, she thought bitterly.) The rain? He had insisted on giving her his umbrella and would not let her go out into it. She thought of the bad feeling she had gotten while looking out into the downpour and how Shuichi had been affected by his brief moment in the rain. Yes, she was definitely seeing some demonic influence there. Even the duck might have betrayed her!

So, what could she do with all of this information? The way she saw it, there were two options. She could either run, hide, scream, and panic, or stand up, learn how to defend herself, and face these demons down. The first certainly was tempting. If she kept ignoring them, maybe they would eventually go away and find some other human to kill. Yes, she could get a passport, go on a trip to America, change her name, marry a native, and live happily away from her past. But could she really just try to ignore it? What if next time someone came after her parents? Or worse, Kaiya? Maybe she should try to convince them all to leave with her.

The second option reared its ugly head at her, trying to get some attention. Marika never really saw herself as the fighting type. She didn't think she could ever just punch someone straight in the jaw. That was much too personal. Maybe she was just too much of a coward to cause someone else pain close up. But if she trained with this person, Master Genkai, then perhaps she would get used to it. She could defend her family and make it through okay. Shuichi didn't seem to think that they would be bothering her for an extended amount of time. But what if they did? She couldn't stand the thought of a life where her primary purpose was to survive the day.

So if she did learn how to defend herself, she couldn't just use it for defense. If she could, she would attack these crazy killer-demons and make them rue the day they decided to mess with her.

"Can I meet her?" Marika asked after a moment. Shuichi's eyes were hidden by his bangs again. She could not tell what he was thinking. There wasn't anything wrong with her learning how to defend herself.

Finally he looked up, his face blank. "I think it would be better if you just stuck close to home for now. Training to use your abilities isn't something that should be taken lightly. Demons are more drawn to people who use psychic abilities. It would only make you more of a target."

Why wouldn't he tell her how to defend herself? He should at least let her make her own decision. But no, he wouldn't even tell her where this Genkai lived. "I am already a target," she said angrily.

Silence fell over the room. Marika was too angry to even speak. Shuichi couldn't control her. She would find a way to get to this Master and learn all she could. She didn't even know Shuichi that well. The only reason she trusted his word was because it seemed that he had nothing to gain from manipulating her. The queer demon in question was watching her reaction as though reading an interesting book. Maybe he was just manipulating her for fun then. Or maybe he could read her mind too.

But she had no more time to consider her anger, because at that moment a voice spoke out into the empty air. Marika always paid such careful attention to her sister. It disturbed her that she had forgotten about Kaiya until that very moment.

"Is this some kind of joke or something? Because, if not, you are clearly all completely insane."

* * *

**Panda: AW LOOK AT KAIYA TALKING SHE IS SO COOL.**

**Armadilllo: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL, did you forget that she was funny? But anyway, I love the Marika/Kurama in this chapter. HA HAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I just remembered what happens later. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

**Panda: I don't know what happens ever. But your least favorite person just guessed that I like Bob. This is entertaining. It isn't like it is hard to guess. He used to adamantly believe it was Bill. I want to stop using names now. It is giving me anxiety. (Look I changed it!)**

**Armadilllo: Understandable. You could just go back and change it. That is a thing. But yeah, let me give the preview.**

**Chapter 10: The Crack in the Sidewalk**

**comment; Hiei leaves; who Kurama; dissuade attempt**

**There. I think that gives away very little. Chapter 12 doesn't have a title yet, btw.**

**Panda: Ahhhh we are catching up to me! Nooooooo!**

**Armadilllo: We knew this day would come. : /**

**Panda: Hopefully when secondary elections are over, I will have TONS of time. Hopefully. Ideally. I AM GOING TO TRY REALLY HARD DARN IT.**

**Armadilllo: Except if you are elected. Then you REALLY won't have any time. Ever.**

**Panda: Haha I'll have time for the rest of the year, this summer, and fall semester. I won't die until Culture Show.**

**Armadilllo: Haha, if you say so. Anyway, we should sign off. **

**Panda: Yeah. My phone is going to die soon. I'm going to keep watching Chinese people yell at each other.**

**Have a Good Week!**

**Love,**

**C. E. Taylor & G.E. Hemmy**


	10. The Crack in the Sidewalk

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**The Crack in the Sidewalk**

**A/N: **

**Panda: HI LOOK I UPDATED THIS ON TIME GUYS I AM A RESPONSIBLE AUTHOR THAT HAS LESS GOING ON NOW (not really, but this is important too). This chapter. I don't remember what happens in it. **

**Armadilllo: Kaiya is confused about aforementioned explanation. And they have to convince her. OH, I REMEMBER! THIS IS WHERE THE LEGIT STUFF HAPPENS! **

**Panda: Caps lock is fun. I overuse it lately. But anyway. I REMEMBER NOW. IT IS SO FUNNY. HIEI. I LOVE THAT GUY. Really, though. Why is he so cool? You know what else, readers? I WOULD MAKE A GREAT SHOW COORDINATOR. Thank you.**

**Armadilllo: I would vote for you (there would be a heart shape here, but the document manager won't let me)**

**Panda: D'aw, I lurve you. Thanks :D :D :D. And. Yeah. To put this in context, I have elections today. For a thing. With people. And stuff. And I've been freaking out all day. ALL DAY. I STARTED CRYING WHEN I HAD TO MOVE MY PRINTER. NOT KIDDING.**

**Armadilllo: She really isn't kidding. But yeah, we only own our own characters, and plot.**

**Panda: My computer just freaked out. But it is all good now. I really like cats. I GET TO SEE MY CATS IN TWO WEEKS. BUT ALSO IN TWO WEEKS I GET SEPARATED FROM (LEGIT) ALL OF MY FRIENDS. I AM GOING TO CRY WHEN I LEEEAAAVE. And yeah. We own those. But not Hiei. Though I do own a Hiei plushie.**

**Armadilllo: Haha, it'll be okay though. We can visit sometime in the summer, or something :D**

**Panda: Yeah. Though it isn't very long that I will be accessible. Unless I don't find money, in which case I don't even know what is going on. But like. Friends. You. First floor friends. JCA friends. EVERYONE LIVES IN NoVA. And I am lonely. And it is also why I don't want to say anything to the English language, because if it WAS at all reciprocated, it would be weird to start something NOW. Especially since I am going to Japan. I am done ranting now. So Armadilllo can comment on this, and open up the chapter for youuuu.**

**Armadillo: Lol, yeah I can see the issue. But anyway, here it is, in all its wondrous glory. :D**

* * *

"Is this some kind of joke or something?" Kaiya asked. "Because, if not, you are clearly all completely insane."

She had to admit to herself that it was partially her own fault; she _had_ been the one to let yet another insane person into their home. And then her crazy sister invited in Shuichi, the co-worker Marika had previously tried to convince her was gay. And what were they doing? Talking about demons. _Demons_. The idea was completely preposterous. Creatures like that couldn't exist; it would throw everything out of balance. What about survival of the fittest? How was the human race even still around if demons really existed?

Except, if she was being completely honest with herself, she couldn't reject the idea entirely. She had never forgotten the strange circumstances behind her losing her sight. Had that creature outside the window been more than a chemically-induced hallucination? Had it been a demon, coming to use her to get to her sister? Or, even worse, had Marika been its target? Or had _she_ actually been its target?

'Absolutely not,' she thought. 'You are being irrational. Demons do not exist. This co-worker is clearly confused about more than just his sexuality, the guy that jumped out of the tree is probably insane as it is, and I already know that nee-chan is crazy.'

"No one here is crazy, Kaiya," the gay co-worker attempted to assure her. He was not successful. It was known that crazy people didn't realize there was anything wrong with their delusions.

"Well, Shuichi's mental stability is debatable," Marika commented. "_I _am definitely not crazy."

"No, really. Just pause for a moment. Think about exactly what you have been saying. Just _think about it_, and _then_ tell me that you think you sound sane," Kaiya asserted. Did she need to record them? Would that make them notice how irrational everything they were saying was? It was beyond ridiculous.

"I never think I _sound _sane," her sister responded.

'How reassuring,' Kaiya thought.

"But however much you deny the truth, the truth goes on existing," she continued. Kaiya recognized that. It was a quote. Really? She was quoting some European guy?

"Did you actually just quote George Orwell?" she asked, voicing her exact thoughts for once.

"The source of something does not make it any less valid," the brunette assured her. Kaiya thought she sounded like she had jumped out of a fortune cookie.

"There are situations where I could definitely argue with that," she pointed out. "But it isn't even relevant. What proof can you show me that this is actually a thing?"

'Yes,' Kaiya thought, 'if they can give me solid proof that this Demon World exists, I will take back every mean thing I ever said about nee-chan being crazy.'

"You're the evidence man, Shuichi," Marika commented. Kaiya rolled her eyes. Her sister could have at least _tried _before shoving the responsibility onto someone else.

"It's not something that is very easy to prove to a blind person," Shuichi said. Kaiya could see how that would be a problem. She imagined ways for them to attempt to persuade her. 'Look at me use my magic powers!' the flamboyant one would say. 'Kaiya, look, they're flying!' Marika might say. Or maybe her sister would even suggest-

"What if you showed her Hiei's third eye?"

That. Maybe she would suggest that. With all of Marika's insistences on babying Kaiya and being obsessed with her well being, the amount of times it seemed she simply _forgot_ that her little sister couldn't see was much larger than one would anticipate.

"That involves seeing," Shuichi pointed out. Kaiya furrowed her brow in confusion. The co-worker was certainly logical. Perhaps she could get along with him if he wasn't so insane.

"I would think living around a blind person would make you aware of such things," tree-man, or she supposed she could call him by his name since she knew it, interjected. Also a logical assumption. Kaiya almost wanted them to successfully prove to her that this demon thing was real; Shuichi and Hiei seemed like very interesting people. If they weren't actually crazy, she might be able to make friends again.

"Whatever, maggot lover," Marika responded. Kaiya took that opportunity to jump back into the conversation.

"What is that even supposed to _mean_?" she asked. Why was she defending him? He was obviously crazy. But, again, it didn't mean her sister had to rip the idea of manners into little pieces and throw it into a giant trash can. "Insanity aside, what about him screams 'I love maggots!'?"

"Well, let's examine the evidence," the brunette began. "He chopped a demon duck into bite-sized chunks. He has also been known to lick the blood off of his sword - which also brings me to the fact that he _has _a sword - not to mention his willingness to kill us. He is obviously obsessed with death. Therefore, he hangs out with people who are dead or dying a lot of the time. And where there are dead people, there are maggots. Hence: He loves maggots."

'What? Was that even _supposed_ to make sense?' Kaiya thought.

"That logic was almost as impressive as it was completely wrong," Shuichi said. Kaiya tilted her head to the side. Every time he spoke, she was reminded less and less of a gay guy and more and more of someone extremely wise who thought out every decision to the fullest before acting on it.

"No one asked you Shuichi!" Marika exclaimed.

"I changed my mind," Kaiya said, referring to Shuichi. "I value his opinion. I agree; your deductive reasoning skills are astounding, and not because you're the next Sherlock Holmes."

"Can I at least be Watson?" her sister pleaded.

"And here you are, trying to defend your sanity," Kaiya responded dryly. She supposed she should give up hope on being friends with Shuichi and Hiei. At this rate, they would hardly have a chance to prove her sister was sane _without _including the demon thing.

"Oh, wait!" Marika spoke up, apparently disregarding Kaiya's jibe at her sanity. "I have an idea how we can convince you that we are sane! Pick me!"

The black-haired girl signed, slumping down in her seat. She didn't even know anymore if she actually wanted it to work or not. "Yes, nee-chan?" she asked sarcastically.

"If I am insane," she began, "then how do you explain the fact that they are having the same delusion as me?"

"Didn't I mention that I think all three of you are insane?" she reminded Marika. She needed a stronger argument. One that she could explain easily. One that was completely grounded in the normal, natural world they lived in. "Or there's the possibility that you, your co-worker, and some friend of his thought it would be funny to mess with me. I mean, why else would someone jump out of a tree?"

"Maybe he just likes trees; is that crazy?" Marika asked. What had happened? It appeared now Marika was defending tree-man. Or, well, Hiei. He did, in fact, have a name. "Because if it is, then you have been insane your whole life."

"There isn't a problem with liking trees," she asserted, crossing her arms. "I was referring to the fact that, in the time period when you _know_ I sit outside under that specific tree, this person just _happened_ to be there. It could totally have been orchestrated by you." She was certainly proud of herself. Thinking up logical explanations on the spot was something she hadn't needed to do before. Then again, neither was convincing her sister that the men in their house weren't demons.

"Even monkeys fall out of trees," Marika responded flippantly. If there weren't any other people in the room, Kaiya would have banged her forehead on the nearest hard surface. Not only was she using yet another quote, but it wasn't even relevant. Unless, of course, she was underestimating her sister's mental capacity and Marika actually meant that Kaiya was correct and the mistake equivalent to the monkey falling out of the tree was Kaiya noticing her plan. Benefit of the doubt?

"Can't you think up anything on your own? George Orwell to proverbs. You have no sense of creativity," Kaiya retorted.

"Well, have you ever considered bringing the words of the dead into a living argument? Remembering all these quotes in itself is a talent. Not everyone can paint weird trees," her sister commented. She wasn't sure which of the tree paintings Marika was referring to, but the only one in the room was her favorite painting; the tree trunks were white with crystallized, purple leaves. She was almost jealous that the other inhabitants of the room could see the actual painting when she had to just imagine it in her mind.

"I like my weird trees!" she replied, defensive. "And this still doesn't solve the issue of whether or not I need to call a mental hospital for all three of you."

"That isn't necessary," Hiei interjected. Kaiya turned her head in the direction of his voice and raised an eyebrow. "I would rather not have to deal with killing any pointless humans at the moment."

'Yes, I am certain,' she thought. 'He has to be insane. Probably a psychopath. Why did nee-chan actually have to be right for once?'

"Hiei, why don't you just solve this whole issue by reading her mind?" Shuichi suggested. Kaiya turned back to face the others and paused for a moment. That was certainly an interesting solution. She doubted they could fake it, and it would be nice to know whether or not they were all crazy. If it wasn't true, then there was no harm in letting him try. If it _was_ true, it wouldn't much matter since he would have been in her head before anyway.

"Hey! I don't want that pervert in my sister's mind!" the brunette exclaimed.

'He isn't a pervert,' Kaiya thought. 'Insane and pervert are very different spectrums of someone's mental state.'

"I don't want to go back inside her mind either," Hiei snapped. Kaiya crinkled her nose. Were her thoughts really that bad?

"It's either that or she calls the police on us," Shuichi pointed out.

'No, silly co-worker, I would call the loony bin,' she thought.

"It would cause both of us too much to work to cover that up and you know it," he continued. Kaiya was sick of just _waiting._ She was tired and she just wanted to be done talking to these people - crazy or not.

"Fine. Whatever. What am I thinking?" Kaiya asked. She decided that the tickling feeling in her mind was due to her exhaustion.

'When I get to walk home by myself, I know where to turn because of the crack in the sidewalk right in front of our house,' she thought. That wasn't something anyone could just guess. In fact, the only person who would know about it was Marika, and Marika didn't usually think ahead far enough to be able to plan something like that. Even then, it would be crazy to guess 'the crack in the sidewalk.'

"You're thinking about the crack you use in the sidewalk to get home," Hiei correctly answered. Her head snapped back in his direction, even though she knew it was pointless.

"There is no crack in the sidewalk," Marika asserted. "Hiei, why are you messing it up? She won't believe us now!"

"Well then," Kaiya commented. "I suppose I can't rule it out to you being perceptive and telling him little facts about my life beforehand."

"Are you saying there is a crack in the sidewalk?" her sister asked incredulously. Kaiya again had the urge to ram her head into some hard, painful object.

"Yes, nee-chan. Yes there is," she answered monotonously.

"Why have I never noticed it then?" Marika asked. Shuichi interjected again before Kaiya had the chance to respond.

"It doesn't matter if you knew about it or not. Do you believe us now, Kaiya?" the male asked. She didn't know what to think. She had felt something tickle her mind briefly before she thought about the crack. Was that Hiei using telepathy on her? If so, did that _actually _mean both he and Shuichi were actually demons? She didn't think she could just accept that.

'Just agree so I can leave,' Hiei's voice interrupted her thoughts within her own mind.

It took all of her self control not to jump out of the chair she was in simply from the shock. Suspecting that he could hear what she was thinking was one thing. Actually hearing his voice as though it was part of her own thoughts was on a whole different level. "Okay, fine, whatever. You can all do whatever you want."

"Cool. So can I go train with Genkai?" Marika asked. Kaiya slumped as far down into her chair as she possibly could, though she knew that there was nowhere she could go to escape from her embarrassment. If he could really hear all of her thoughts, just how many had he heard? All of them? Was it something he could turn on and off, or was it just a constant flow of people's thoughts within his mind?

"No, absolutely not," Shuichi answered. Kaiya still wasn't paying attention. She was acutely aware of a strange sensation. She felt as though she was being watched, but at the same time she knew it wasn't like someone was looking at her. She felt like her thoughts were on display, shining against a blank part of the wall from an old overhead projector. Was he still reading her mind? He hadn't moved from the window behind her.

"Why not?" Marika inquired. The black-haired girl shifted, pulling one of her legs to her chest. Body language. It was relevant. She had learned once that closing off your body with other body parts is like a signal of feeling uncomfortable. But then she put her leg back down. What if he wasn't even reading her mind? What if he was, but it wasn't his fault? She didn't want him to think she had a problem with him. After all, he had certainly proved he wasn't human, so her fear of his insanity didn't stand. Regardless of the fact he had mentioned killing people twice, she did still feel as though she could trust him.

"I already told you why. Don't make me repeat myself," Shuichi asserted to the brunette. Kaiya was momentarily distracted from her own thoughts. She had asked her sister once before why she thought this man was gay, but that was before she met him. It was silly. He wasn't gay.

'Maybe it's his looks,' she thought. 'Maybe he is wearing makeup or something.'

"You can't tell me what to do!" her sister exclaimed.

"Then why did you ask me whether you could or not?" the not-so-gay co-worker asked. Kaiya was again distracted from the situation at hand when she felt Hiei move behind her. Was he going to join them sitting down? Was he going to attack one of them? No, he would have attacked them a long time ago if he really wanted to. Was he going to wipe her memory again? That could be a possibility.

"Because, well, because I don't know where she lives," Marika explained. Hiei was gone. The black-haired girl couldn't feel him there anymore and, even though she did irrationally trust him, she felt as though she could think freely again.

"It will be better for you if you just let me handle it," Shuichi continued to attempt to convince the brunette.

"I'm not helpless!" Marika exasperatedly replied. Kaiya was struck by a moment of familiarity. In that instance, her older sister was behaving just as _she_ did when Marika wouldn't let her do something.

"I never said you were," Shuichi defended himself. "I just mean that I have more experience with these things."

"You fascist telemarketer! I never will if you don't let me do anything!" Marika continued.

'Fascist telemarketer?' Kaiya thought. 'These insults today don't make any sense. And she is being such a hypocrite. Maybe if I call her a fascist telemarketer next time she won't let me do something, she will change her mind.'

"The fascist thing I understand, but telemarketer?" Shuichi asked.

"You sell shoes, it's the same thing!" the brunette exclaimed.

"If you say so," he replied with a sigh.

'Yep,' Kaiya thought. 'We could definitely be friends. It's a good sign.'

"So, if I say that I am going to train with this psychic, then you won't stop me," Marika tried again, twisting his words to fit her own needs.

"That's not what I meant," Shuichi said.

"But it's what you said," she replied confidently.

"Only if you twist my words with your illogic," he retorted. Did this kind of thing happen all the time? They sounded like an old married couple. And, if Kaiya was being one hundred percent honest with herself, she thought it was adorable.

"That American band?" Marika asked. For the third time, Kaiya wanted to bash her own head in with a blunt object.

"Marika, this is not a joke," Shuichi responded seriously. The black-haired girl was surprised by the amount of worry in his tone. It seemed that he genuinely cared about what happened to her sister.

"I was asking seriously," Marika asserted. Kaiya couldn't decide if she thought her older sister was being serious or not.

"By illogic I meant your misuse of logic," the male explained.

'He is much more patient with her than I am,' Kaiya mused. 'I would have given up about five minutes ago.'

"I can't 'misuse' logic if I don't use it in the first place," Marika attempted to explain. As true as it was, it wasn't going to do anything to help her side of the argument.

"Well, when you put it that way -" Shuichi began but was interrupted.

"Shuichi, really, you don't own me," Marika pointed out. "I am not some pet of yours that you have to make sure is taken care of. I want to learn how to defend myself."

"I know that," he replied. "But you should also understand that I am not going to let that happen." It was adorable. This not-gay co-worker was being protective of her crazy sister. For the past few years, she had wanted Marika to be happy again. Was this man the person who could give that happiness back to her?

"How did you get my book, anyway?" Marika asked, abruptly changing the subject. Had she noticed he was acting not-gay too? No, it was more likely that she just wanted to distract him from his fervent effort to convince her not to go to see this "Genkai." Kaiya understood; it would be a bad idea. They should just pretend like it never happened and move on with their lives normally. That was what Kaiya planned to do.

"What?" Shuichi asked, probably also surprised by the spontaneous subject change.

"You heard me!" Marika exclaimed.

"That has nothing to do with it," he responded.

'Yes, Shuichi,' Kaiya thought. 'Assert yourself. You can handle the crazy. I believe in you.'

"Were you _in my room?_" the brunette asked accusingly. Kaiya was confused. How would Shuichi have gotten a book from her sister's room? It wasn't as though he was some trained assassin or something.

"I told you, you left it in the store," he explained. That made sense. Marika was known, after all, to forget things. She also wasn't very observant. Hence the lack of knowledge about the giant crack in the sidewalk in front of their house.

"Lies! I did no such thing," she asserted. Kaiya found it easier to believe the co-worker in that situation... or in most situations, really.

"Actually, you probably did leave it in the store. Maybe you have early onset Dementia," the black-haired girl commented. Rationally speaking, it was pretty normal to leave a book somewhere. At the same time, though, it did seem convenient that he had a book to return at the exact same time that Hiei was in their living room.

"I think it is much more likely that Shuichi is some kind of cat-burglar-demon thing!" Marika exclaimed.

"Actually, I am a fox demon," he argued.

"All the better to sneak into my room, you sly fox! Never go into my room again!" the brunette demanded.

"What if he has your permission?" Kaiya asked slyly. The question was, however, whether or not Marika would catch the innuendo.

"Why would he have my permission?" she asked. Apparently not. How on earth was she still so certain he was gay?

"Nevermind," Kaiya muttered, leaning her head onto the back of the chair. She was getting sick of the argument taking place. Shuichi and Marika were both too stubborn for their own good - not saying Kaiya wasn't stubborn as well; that just wasn't a problem at that specific moment.

"I told you already, I never went into your room. If you want, I can take the book back to the shoe store and leave it there for you to find," he suggested.

"No! Don't touch it!" the brunette exclaimed. "You've done enough. Just leave me!"

"Melodramatic, much?" Kaiya asked, no emotion in her tone.

"Fine. I'm going. See you both tomorrow, I guess," Shuichi finished. Kaiya heard him stand and start to move around to the door.

"Goodbye, Shuichi," Marika said. His footsteps echoed on the wooden floors until the door opened and closed.

"Right," Kaiya started. "I'm going to my room now." She stood up and began walking to the stairs.

"You're not going to have dinner?" Marika asked, significantly calmer since Shuichi was gone. Kaiya furrowed her brow and stopped walking briefly. The relationship between the two of them didn't make much sense, but that was something to think about another time. Kaiya didn't plan on talking about what they had learned anymore. If Marika tried to convince her to go see Genkai, she wouldn't let it happen. They both just needed to move on.

"No," Kaiya responded, continuing her journey to the stairs.

"As long as you have breakfast, I guess," Marika muttered.

"Whatever you say," Kaiya responded, tossing a hand over her shoulder. Maybe when she woke up in the morning, all of that "demon" stuff would have been nothing more than a dream.

* * *

**Armadilllo:THAT WAS GREAT!**

**Panda: WASN'T IT? I AM SO PROUD. PLUS. KAIYA AND HIEI. IF YOU SQUINT, GUYS. IF YOU SQUINT. I totally ship Kaiya and Hiei. **

**Armadilllo: I do too, even though I ship Kurama and Marika more. Tragic love is the best kind.**

**Panda: Oh, tragic love. Haha, we're so angsty. So, so very angsty. Except not really right now. BUT IT GETS THERE. WITH ANGST.**

**Armadilllo: Sorry, I got distracted and keyboard mashed accidentally. But yes, I agree. They are my favorite. Here is a glimpse of the upcoming action that you can find in next week's update:**

**Chapter 11: Determination and guilt - attempt to convince Kaiya; boring days; Kurama blindness; train ride**

**Panda: Wow, so cool! I like the "boring days" part. It sounds particularly interesting. And, like, unfortunately, we are catching up to the chapter I am still working on. Heh. Luckily, that update is AFTER finals are all done.**

**Armadilllo: Yeah, it should be okay. And at least you will have two weeks to write the next chapter, even when we catch up to you.**

**Panda: True, true. Oh. Uh, I should warn you all that I am going to Japan this summer, so there will be NO UPDATES between July 13th and August... something. It'll be essentially a five-week hiatus. But when I come back, I will have MUCH KNOWLEDGE. But yeah, even though there is internet there, I'm just not going to have time. I SAWE READERS, BUT THAT IS ALSO A LONG TIME AWAY, AND REMEMBER THAT I LOVE YOU FOR READING THIS STORYYYY.**

**Armadilllo: Haha, and until that far off day, we shall see you next Saturday, and the Saturday after that, and the next one too. :D**

**Love,**

**C. E. Taylor & G.E. Hemmy**


	11. Lingering

**Heart of Life: Alea Iacta Est**

**PandaShadow and ArmadillloHunter**

**Lingering**

**A/N:**

**Panda: Oh hai thar. This is a chapter. That I didn't write. Yeah. Chapters.**

**Armadilllo: Yes. Tis mine. Fun fact: I hated this chapter when I wrote it.**

**Panda: Fun times. I remember that. I told you you were being silly. Psha. Yeah. Wow, so we are in the middle of finals and stuff. College life. Yeah. And my brain says no, even though I haven't actually done anything. And did you know we have a soundtrack for this story? We are listening to it. Yeah.**

**Armadilllo: Yeah, it's pretty adorbs. Haha.**

**Panda: I got distracted and don't remember what I was thinking. Cats. English. Exam tomorrow. Poetry sucks. By the way, in case you were wondering, the english language is, in fact, heterosexual.**

**Armadilllo: NO WAY! You never told meeeee.**

**Panda: Lies. I did too. Right after it became evident. DON'T LIE TO OUR READERS. QQ**

**Armadilllo: :(. Sorry. But anyway. This chapter. I think I made peace with it. I read it the other day without thinking it was awful.**

**Panda: I am quite glad. Quite. Glad. Happiness is good. I DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THE BUG CLASS. You are happy with your chapter. I am happy with the lack of bug.**

**Armadilllo: Lolololol, yeah. I am not glad about having to live in the WLH next semester. But it'll all be good.**

**Panda: You'll be able to get through it. I have faith.**

**Armadilllo: Daw, thanks. (insert heart here) trololol. But anywho, we don't own any of the characters from Yu Yu Hakusho. Just our OCs and the plot.**

**Panda: Yuss. And now, we present, in all of its glory, Chapter Eleven: Lingering!**

* * *

Even after the demons had left, the thoughts they planted could not be shaken off. Kaiya had gone straight to bed when Shuichi and his friend had left, but Marika stayed in the living room, ignoring her homework. She was trying to memorize how the demon energy felt. This, she thought, would be the first step. She didn't want to be totally unprepared when she met Genkai. But she WOULD meet the Master. She WOULD train to use her ability to sense spirit energy if it took her last breath to get there.

She thought of all the demons she had met in the last few days. It had not even been a week! Shuichi, Hiei, the fox-girl and the duck. But these were not the only demons she had ever encountered. She had felt the same way many times before, usually before something particularly bad happened. It was strange, that though the demons she had met were very different, their energy had all felt the same. If she truly could sense spirit energy like Shuichi had said, then perhaps it was more a sense of someone's power than their personality.

Demon energy, despite the negative connotation that demons seemed to have in the human world, did not feel particularly malicious. She didn't know how to explain how the energy felt except to picture it in her mind. The image that came to her mind was of a house surrounded on all sides by other houses that were all occupied. But this house's windows were dark, its doors locked from the inside by a long dead owner. Sadness seeped from the house like a tangible puss, infecting the other houses around it until nothing was left but loneliness.

This was what sent the shivers down her spine and raised the hairs on her arms. She had felt the glare of eyes laughing at her pathetic blundering when she had briefly gone to the demon world. It was disturbing that this attitude could so completely describe the place. The German people had a word for the emotion that came from taking joy in other people's discomfort. Americans called it slapstick. The only way to survive in a world like that was to lie, cheat, steal, fight and kill your way to the top. And then to stomp on those who were in the same position that you yourself had once occupied. It was sickening. She had felt that most acutely when she had gone into the demon world. The whole place reeked of it. Perhaps that was why Shuichi wouldn't tell her what he knew. Information was power, and in the world of demons, that was all that mattered. It was laughable to think that Shuichi might be powerful in this other world.

But Marika could not laugh at the ghostlike house. Its fate was something she had always feared: abandonment. It was a feeling that was hard to shake when she was surrounded by the residual energy the demons' visit had left behind. For a whole race to be abandoned, what kind of unspeakable atrocities must be committed?

Even stranger than Marika's mental image of demon energy was the smell that came along with it. It smelt of chlorophyll welling from the fresh wounds of a thousand decapitated plants cut down by a mower. Grass and weeds and flowers all fell like tin soldiers on the rug of a little boys room, knocked over by large feet that were careless of who they trampled. Mixed in with this was the smell of blood.

Marika wondered why of all things would they smell like grass. Perhaps they _were_ natural creatures. What were demons really? They must have had lineages just like humans did. Like Marika had come from Natsuki and Tomiichi and Natsuki had come from Ayame and Steven. The latter was the American grandfather who had passed down his blue eyes. Marika absent-mindedly took out her braid and shook out her dark brown hair before realizing that she hadn't wanted to take it out. With a sigh, she began to put the braid back in, her hair intertwining like her thoughts.

Had anyone ever held the demons like she had been held as a child? Did they have parents? They had to; they were creatures of nature after all. It was hard to picture anyone cooing at the harshly intelligent, three-eyed Hiei. Shuichi, though, had said that his name was human. How much could she really trust him though? It could just be the name that he was called in the human world, or a mask he wore to deceive her race so that he could live among them. His energy seemed less potent than Hiei's. It could be that he wore a disguise.

But why would they even come to the human world? They had their own homes, their own people, they could get by without any interaction with humans. Well, she supposed some would need them for food, if stories were to be believed. Demons in the old children's stories had been mindless stupid creatures that gorged themselves on blood. But Hiei and Shuichi hadn't seemed like that. Never in the three months she had known Shuichi had he even done anything remotely threatening. And while Hiei was certainly scary, it seemed that he had been holding back his anger at their 'human stupidity'.

No. There was a another reason that demons came to the human world, besides food. She saw the house again, its aint cracked and chipping. She had been to demon world. She had walked in the dark, where it seemed that you were always alone, able to hear people in the area around you but not know which way to go to get to them. If Kaiya had not been standing next to her she would have been totally alone. Compared to that place, the human world was a light happy place where the people laughed and joked and distracted themselves from the pain of life. There was a sense of solidarity here, as though you could never truly be alone. That perception did not cover even half of all that life was, in Marika's experience. But she could see the confusion.

Looking at them this way, demons and humans did not seem all that different to her. Both viewed the world through a narrow lense. Demons, if Hiei's comments were to be taken as an example, had an incomplete view of her race. They saw humans as stupid creatures that lived for pleasure and never did anything of consequence. Maybe that was where the practice of eating people came from. Men were easy prey. And human stories showed their own prejudices against those of demon world.

But Marika had to wonder what would have happened if humans had been shut into a world of darkness and the demons had been allowed to stay in the light. Would things have developed differently? The outcasted ones would always be jealous and full of contempt for those who had been given the light and took it for granted. And what or who decided which group would be thrust into darkness? A grave error thousands of years ago by a lone scapegoat? A personal grudge? Or a general separation of the races over the years? Maybe the demons chose to close themselves off. Though why anyone would willingly choose to live in shadow was beyond Marika. She could barely take one night of it.

There were stories of humans, demons, and spirits inhabiting the same world but they were so old it was hard to take them seriously. Though if they were true then there had to be a reason that the races had been forced apart. And those who had once been friendly with her race became monsters though their rage and jealousy. It was almost sad.

But even if the demons did deserve pity, or hatred, or mercy, Marika had no time for that. The monsters could continue in their ways, spreading death and dealing destruction. Marika didn't care. But she would be damned if she let them make a victim of her. She would learn how to punch, kick, fight, anything that would let her survive. And more than that, they would regret the day they had picked her out of the crowd and decided to kill her. she would make the demons tell her how to help Kaiya. If she could only accomplish one thing in her life, it would be a cure for her sister. She was determined.

Marika heard her parents unlocking the front door and ran upstairs before they could come in and ask her why she was still awake. There was nothing she could do immediately with her resolve anyway. She had no idea where the psychic Genkai lived, not to mention the fact that she had school in the morning. And more than that, she knew she could not leave home without Kaiya. The demons who were after her knew where she lived, and she would bet her life that they would not leave her sister alone just because their primary target was gone. Some of them did EAT humans, after all and they would not pass up a free meal.

Her parents would be fine. They were hardly at the house anyway. But Kaiya would be in danger if she was left alone. Blindness aside, she was clearly in denial of what was going on. And while that was better for her in the long run (Marika didn't want her to live in fear of demons. If someone had to live with the knowledge then it would be her.), it left her open to attack. Just today, she had dragged a demon into their house. Their house! Kaiya needed to be protected most of all from herself. And there was only one person who could do that. Of course, that meant that Marika would have to convince her sister to come with her when she left to be trained. That was not something Marika looked forward to. Her sister was quite stubborn, after all.

She had avoided sleep long enough. Marika climbed under her covers and greeted the monsters that awaited her with silent screams.

The hard part would be how to bring it up. Kaiya was not usually very enthusiastic about going on these weekend outings. Marika guessed that it would only be harder now that her naturally skeptical sister thought that she was crazy.

She was preoccupied by this dilemma all day. Her classes had passed by quickly and work had seemed shorter than usual. Shuichi left her alone for the most part, seeming to read her thoughtfulness as a sign that she was ignoring him. In fact, she wasn't sure that he had spoken at all until their shift ended.

"Marika, are you coming?" he asked, light jacket in hand. The weather had been bipolar today, so Marika was glad she had worn layers. She hoped that Kaiya had remembered her jacket. Her sister would be even more difficult to convince if she was in a bad mood, and being cold all day would certainly not help anything.

"Marika, did you hear me?" Shuichi asked. Because if she was cold, then it would remind her that she couldn't go outside. And any day that her sister was stuck inside was a tragedy for her. Maybe if Marika went and got her some kind of treat, it would make her easier to talk to. Kaiya loved sweets more than regular food anyway. What kind should she get? Mochi? Pocky? Hello Panda?

"Marika," Shuichi said softly. Marika jumped in surprise. He was right behind her. She was surprised that she hadn't noticed him approach. He laughed initially at her reaction before scrutinizing her. "You look like you've seen a ghost," he said seriously.

He looked worried. "No, no," she said, quickly. "Nothing to worry about." So that just he could hear, she added, "I haven't seen any demons today. Well, besides the obvious."

"Good," he said shortly, already turning toward the door.

What could she even say to him, knowing what she did now? 'Hey, so kill any humans lately?', she thought. No, that wouldn't go over very well. Although, he was a demon. Maybe it would be okay. Then she remembered her dream. She hurried to catch up to him, running a little in the process.

"So, Shuichi, you like science, don't you?" Marika asked innocently. He barely glanced at her before responding.

"Do you need help in class?" he asked.

Marika laughed, trying to move the conversation in a more friendly direction. They had made it to the car. She dropped into her seat, waiting for Shuichi open his door so that he would be able to hear her. "No, I am doing very well in my science, which is actually a miracle if I think about it."

"Then why do you want to know so badly whether or not I am interested in science?" Shuichi asked, his eyes on the road as pulled out onto the street. He seemed suspicious. Marika guessed that it was fair enough. She was trying to get information out of him, after all.

"Can't I make a friendly conversation?" she asked, adding some hurt into her voice. Yes, she was being transparent about her motives, but the least he could do was pretend that he didn't know what she was asking.

Shuichi took a moment to respond. "I used to do very well at science in high school. Everyone said I should go into the medical field."

"So, did you keep up with it?" Marika asked, the interest in her voice thinly veiled. Maybe he had been lying when he said he knew nothing about blindness. Maybe he had discovered a way to heal eyes that had been so badly damaged that they had stopped working. She wondered what it could be, a computer chip or an organ transplant? From what little she had heard her parents talking about, these solutions were years away for someone like Kaiya. What if her dream wasn't meant to come true until then?

"No," Shuichi said. Marika felt all of her dreams crash to the floor. "I wouldn't be a good doctor."

"What?" Marika asked, incredulous. "But you said yourself that you had all the makings of a good one."

"Except for the most important thing," Shuichi said as he pulled into the pickup area of Kaiya's school. What was the most important thing? Perhaps it was that he didn't want to save human lives. But Marika didn't have any more time to consider it. Kaiya was already standing outside, _with_ a jacket on, Marika was glad to note. She got out of the car and guided her sister into the car.

"Are you going to say hello to Minamino-san, Kaiya?" Marika asked after she had gotten back in the front seat and buckled herself in.

"Hi," Kaiya said monotonously.

It was clear she was in a bad mood even with a jacket on. Marika shrugged helplessly at Shuichi. He didn't look over at her, or give her any indication of camaraderie, which was okay with her. He was a demon, after all, and now that she knew that, there was no reason for either of them to pretend they were friends. 'Except for the small fact that I need him to tell me what he knows about a cure for blindness,' Marika thought. They didn't talk anymore during the short drive from Kaiya's school to their house.

Shuichi pulled into the driveway, still not looking in her direction. He seemed very tense. Kaiya got out of the car and began feeling her way up the driveway. Sighing, she opened her door and went to make sure that her sister did not trip over the big rock in their parents' small zen garden. But suddenly there was a hand on her arm, preventing her from leaving the car.

"Marika," he began, "please tell me that you have forgotten about going to train with Genkai."

Marika was furious. He didn't want her to train to defend herself? Well, she would show him. Maybe he didn't want her to go because that was where he had hidden his research. "I can't do that. Maybe your kind thinks of us as easy prey, but not this girl!"

She pulled her arm out of his grip and stormed into the house. 'Pshh,' she thought, 'Shuichi.' The name in itself was an unspoken condemnation. Just because he was a demon he thought that he had the right to boss her around. Marika would not have hung around with him at this point if it were not for her prophetic dream that he would tell her the cure for blindness.

Remembering her intent to ask Kaiya about going to Genkai directly after school, Marika raced to catch up with her sister once they were inside the house.

"So, Kaiya," she said as casually as she could muster, "did you have fun this weekend?"

"We've been over this already, nee-chan," her sister responded.

"Oh, yeah," she replied. Darn, she had forgotten about that. "So... what are you doing next weekend?"

"Look, I know that you are crazy and all, but I didn't realize it affected your memory too," Kaiya said scornfully. Marika had no idea what she was talking about. Had she forgotten something that Kaiya had planned? It seemed unlikely. Then she realized that her sister was making a barbed comment about Marika's determination to go everywhere with her little sister. Of course Kaiya would make a comment about that. Marika hid her irritation and continued trekking on. This was not going as planned.

"Oh, so you are free?" she said, keeping her tongue in check. "Because I was planning on going to see that psychic that Shuichi was talking about. Let's go, yeah?"

"You know, I could handle the strange things about you before,"Kaiya said patronizingly "But now your gay co-worker has made you even more crazy. Do mean to tell me that you honestly believe him?"

"No, of course not," Marika lied, trying not to seem too eager. "But I am curious about it. I just want to go see her, that's all."

"What makes you so certain she even exists?" her sister asked disbelievingly.

"I looked it up on the internet," Marika told her. "Apparently she was advertising for an apprentice a while back. She just looks like a normal sensei."

"Why would I care how she looks? I'm blind, remember?" Yes, Marika did remember. The words hurt her physically.

"I know," she said quietly. "I just thought maybe you would want to know that she is not crazy,"

"You do realize that looks have nothing to do with whether or not someone is crazy, right?" Another blatant jibe at Marika. "After all, she advertised herself as some psychic. What does she even do, read your palm?"

"See?" she said, trying to ignore her sister's bad attitude. She _had _to convince her to come along, no matter what. Kaiya obviously wasn't going to agree, but Marika kept trying. "These questions are exactly why I want to go. I am just curious. Where's the harm in that?"

"No," Kaiya said firmly. Marika's heart fell.

"You agree?" she joked. "There is no harm?"

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry," Kaiya said sarcastically. "I forgot you never understand anything I say. I meant 'no, I am not going.'"

"Why not?" Marika tried without success to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"I don't want to encourage your crazy," her sister sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be the responsible, older sister?"

"So now 'crazy' is defined by a sense of adventure and curiosity?" Marika responded defensively.

"No," Kaiya said. "I think adventures are perfectly okay. But not if you are convinced that some woman can teach you to use magical energies or whatever."

"I told you I don't think that," Marika lied through her teeth. "But fine, if you don't want to go, then we can do something else."

Her sister did not seem enthusiastic. "Fine."

"So where do you want to go, Kaiya-chan?" Marika said, changing her approach. She laughed evilly on the inside. If it was her sister's idea to go somewhere, maybe it would be easier to convince her.

Kaiya seemed suspicious, not to mention surprised that she was being allowed to choose the activity. She answered after a moment of hesitation. "Naoshima."

Damn. Art Island. It had been Kaiya's dream for years to go there. Especially before the accident. Everything on the island was art, and a large amount of it was outside, which was perfect for her sister. Even if she couldn't see any of the art, she could still enjoy herself in the outdoor gardens and exhibits. It all sounded boring to Marika, not to mention the cost of admission. That was probably why Kaiya had chosen Naoshima. She knew that Marika would feel bad to deny her this dream and knew that she wouldn't want to go in the first place. And the cost was outrageous. Without thinking, she voiced her thoughts.

"Hm," she said, "I don't know. It is kind of expensive."

"Oh. I guess we could just stay home, then," Kaiya said with relief. "I wouldn't mind having a day to myself here."

"You didn't let me finish," Marika said quickly. "It is expensive, but I know how long you have wanted to go, and you have seemed like you have been stressed lately."

Kaiya still seemed suspicious. "Well then. Thank you. I'm glad to know that my opinion matters."

"It's settled then," Marika said decisively. "I will tell okaa-san and otou-san. I'm sure they won't mind."

"I... really?" Kaiya seemed so surprised that Marika had actually agreed to it. Her conscience nagged her about lying to her sister. But it was a necessary evil.

"Yes, of course," Marika said. She laughed, but it did not reach her eyes. "I told you we would go someday, right?"

"I guess you did," Kaiya still sounded surprised. Was Marika really that bad that something this small surprised her sister? "Thanks nee-chan. I guess I take back some of that bit about you being crazy."

Yes, she really must be awful. She had a bad feeling that when the other foot fell, and Kaiya learned of this deception, the fallout would envelop all of Japan.

* * *

**Panda: LOOK AT THOSE LIES. LOOK AT THEM.**

**Armadilllo: Why did she feel that lying was necessary? Marika is a bad kid. That's why.**

**Panda: Lying. It is bad. Gosh. Poor Kaiya. POOR KAIYA. I don't know what else to say.**

**Armadilllo: Well, it could be said that the lies were a needed evil. Otherwise, where would Kaiya end up? Where would Marika end up? Deep existential questions.**

**Panda: Alas, everything happens for a reason.**

**Armadilllo: Triangle babies should not exist. I still don't understand. Why?**

**Panda: I dunno. Does Kent Williams know? Does he know who Yaban Hito is? Can he give us the preview for the next chapter?**

**PREVIEW for Chapter 12: Sightless Vision**

**Stairs; flimsy story; door; mad; Yukina; food; trees**

**Armadilllo: Apparently, he can. Idk how that worked ;)**

**Panda: I AM SO IMPRESSED.**

**Armadilllo: My song memory. Too OP. For my own good. :D**

**Panda: Too true. I think that is all I have to say for this Saturday. Lord. We are catching up to me. Crap. I need to get on that. Like naow.**

**Armadilllo: #fact. And Chapter 13 is the week after next! Get excited. You might be shocked. You may be appalled. But hopefully you will like it :D**

**Love, **

**C. E. Taylor & G. E. Hemmy**


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